Sailor Moon O: Orion's Story

by Merry Shannon

The senshi meet Sailor Orion, a mysterious new Sailor known as the Sacrificial Soldier. Together Orion and the senshi must race against time to find the legendary Silver Dagger in order to save the world from Negaverse invasion. In the process secrets f

15. A Prayer to the Stars! The Death of Chib...

Part Fifteen: A Prayer to the Stars! The Death of ChibiMoon

"You must have a death wish!" Lady Slipper screeched when she saw what Lord Narcissus was up to now. "Do you have any idea what that thing is?"
"Sure," Narcissus responded flippantly. "The Avatar called it a Soul Dissolver. This little baby is going to solve all our Sailor Senshi problems for the rest of eternity." He laughed darkly, and the edges of the expanding Gate swelled a bit from within.
Lady Slipper was aghast. "You can't take that out there, Narcissus. You can't do that!"
"Of course I can. The Avatar told me himself that this is one of the most legendary devices the Negaforce has ever created. One little blast and the Sailor Senshi aren't just dead, they're dissolved. They'll never be reborn, they'll never come back. Their souls are gone poof! forever and ever." There was more maniacal laughter. "Little Miss Orion and her precious soul will be nothing more than a memory. The Doomsday Gate can't be sealed if there aren't any souls to seal it with!"
"You're crazy, Narcissus. You can't use that thing on Orion. You have no idea what you're dealing with here." Lady Slipper's tones were nearly hysterical. "I'm warning you if you take the Soul Dissolver out there, you're going to end up dead. Orion's just been playing with you so far, my dear Admiral. But the minute she sees that thing, playtime will be over. Trust me, you don't want to cause her to forget her sense of humor."
Lord Narcissus snorted with derision. "This fine machine was invented by the Prince of Darkness himself before the betrayal. And you've heard the stories, Lady Slipper. The Avatar's son was the greatest Negaverse warrior in existence. If it hadn't been for that bratty little Posiverse Princess, he'd have lived to be the most powerful being in all the universe."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Narcissus."
"Don't I?"
Lady Slipper growled at the admiral's insolence. "No, you don't. You weren't there."
"Oh, and I suppose you were." There was a moment of pointed silence. Narcissus cleared his throat nervously. "I don't believe you."
"I don't care if you believe it or not, dear Narcissus. I told you before, that I am older and more powerful than you can even begin to imagine. I was there when the Soul Dissolver was born. And I am telling you that if you take it out there, if you show it to Orion, you are going to get yourself killed!" She was shrieking again. "And it won't be just you. I guarantee you that the moment Orion sets eyes on that thing she isn't going to stop until she's killed you, me, every last one of the Sailor Constellations, and the Avatar himself."
The Negaverse admiral scoffed at her. "That's ridiculous. You keep telling me how powerful you are, Lady Slipper, and you're afraid of this little Sailor brat? I'm disappointed in you."
"You just don't get it," Lady Slipper snapped back. "I'm not afraid of Sailor Orion the way she is now. I'm afraid of what she's going to turn into when she sees that thing. You've underestimated her at every turn, Narcissus you really have no concept of what she's capable of. Don't do this. For your own good, Narcissus, put the Soul Dissolver back where you found it and forget the whole thing or else you're going to wish that you had."
"I don't think so," Narcissus insisted. "Besides, the Avatar himself gave this to me, and told me how to use it. He wants me to take the Senshi down, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to start with the three who have the power to seal the Gate; and once they're gone I'll get the others."
Lady Slipper gave a short, mocking laugh. "Oh, really? And which three would you be thinking of? Besides Orion, of course."
"Sailor Moon and the little Moon brat. They're the only others who have the ability to create the seal."
"I see." The Negaverse female's tones were calculating. "And precisely how do you propose getting to them without the other Senshi getting in the way? Surely you've seen the way they fight by now. They aren't going to allow you to get to Sailor Moon without going through them first."
"Well, if they'd rather die before than after, that's fine with me," Narcissus answered, his voice haughty. "I'm going to kill them all anyway, so it doesn't really matter, now does it?"
"You're a fool, Narcissus." The words dripped with scorn. "You're a fool, and you're going to die a fool's death. Just don't come whining back here when you discover the truth; I'm not going to help you anymore. You are on your own."
There was a sort of rustling sound, and then silence as Lady Slipper left. The black monument, the Altar of Tears, began to tremble again as Lord Narcissus laughed. "I'm coming for you, Orion," he chuckled. "I'm coming for you, and this time you're going to die."

Chibiusa stared in amazement at Usagi's room. "What happened in here?" she demanded.
Usagi grinned, quite pleased with herself. "Everybody's coming for a sleepover," she told her future daughter. "So I cleaned up a little."
Chibiusa frowned, looking around her at the newly tidied room. She could actually see the floor. "Hey, I didn't know your carpet was white." Usagi scowled and threw a pillow at her, and the little girl giggled. "But hey, don't we usually do sleepovers over at Rei's?"
"I know, but I wanted to try something a little different," Usagi answered, forgetting all about being upset with Chibiusa in her excitement. "Besides, Mom's been asking to meet Shinzui-san, since she's always in her aerobics class when you have your lessons."
"Shinzui-san is coming?" Chibiusa repeated, her eyes getting big. "All right!"
"Yeah, but we're going to be talking Scout business, so you're going to have to leave her alone."
The pink ponytails bounced defiantly. "Hey, I'm a Senshi too, remember?"
"You're still in training," Usagi reminded her self-importantly. "So you should leave the important stuff to us big people."
Chibiusa made a face at her future mother and was about to deliver a retort, but the doorbell rang. Both girls jumped up and raced down the stairs.
"Minna!" Usagi exclaimed happily as she got there first and threw open the door. Minako, Makoto and Rei, with Artemis riding on the blond's shoulder, were quickly ushered into the Tsukino's living room. "Hey, where's Ami-chan?"
Makoto smiled. "She's on her way," she said, taking a seat on the couch and setting the large Tupperware container she was carrying onto the coffee table. "She said she'd stop by Shinzui-san's apartment and come with her. We agreed" the girls looked at one another, "that maybe we should keep an eye on Shinzui."
Minako nodded, her bright red bow quivering enthusiastically. "Yeah," she tossed in. "The Negaverse and Lord Narcissus seem to be after her more than any of us, and she shouldn't be left alone too much."
"I've felt a concentration of evil energy," added Rei, "and it's been getting stronger, and closer, all day today. It feels like something's about to happen, and I think we should all keep on our toes."
Usagi wasn't paying much attention to this as she eyed Makoto's Tupperware. "Umm Mako-chan," she said in her sweetest voice, batting her eyes. "I just know you're going to share whatever delicious thing you brought with your prettiest, most beautiful friend in the world, now aren't you?"
Makoto grinned at her and picked up the container. "Oh,of course I am, Usagi-chan," she answered, her voice equally sugary. She took the lid off, revealing a luscious chocolate cake. "Here, Minako-chan. Help yourself."
Usagi's face contorted into a scowl. "Mako-chan," she grumbled, and the brunette turned towards her. Makoto had to smile at the petulant expression on her friend's face.
"Oh, all right, Usagi-chan. You all may have some." As all the girls dove for the cake though, Makoto put the lid back on and waved a finger at them. "Ah-ah, girls. We're going to wait for Ami-chan and Shinzui-san. Otherwise, knowing you, there won't be any left for them." There was a chorus of disappointed moans, but they all sat back against the couches.
Artemis rolled his eyes and decided to change the subject. "By the way, Usagi-chan, are Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna coming tonight?"
Usagi shook her head. "Nope. Haruka-san said they had other stuff to do."
"I just think she didn't want to be around Shinzui," Rei tossed in, brushing a strand of long dark hair behind her ears. "You've all noticed how weird she gets whenever Shinzui-san is around."
"Yeah," Chibiusa chimed in. "She gets all tight lipped and stuff, like she's really mad or something, you know? It's kind of scary. I mean, Haruka-san can be pretty tough when she wants to be."
The other girls nodded in agreement, but Usagi shook her head stubbornly. "Haruka wouldn't hurt us," she declared firmly. "She might get mad and stuff, but she wouldn't hurt us, and she wouldn't hurt Shinzui-san now that we're sure she's on our side. I just know she wouldn't." At that point, the doorbell rang again, and Chibiusa jumped up to go answer it.
"Shinzui-san!" she cried excitedly as the blind girl smiled down at her. Chibiusa threw her little arms around one of Shinzui's legs, and used one hand to pet Centauri on the head. "Hi, Centauri."
There was a light giggle. "And what about me, Chibiusa-chan?" Ami asked as she, too, stepped through the door. The pink-haired girl looked up with a grin.
"Hi, Ami-chan," she said, giving the smaller girl a hug as well. "Come on in," Chibiusa suggested, closing the door behind them. "Mako-chan said we couldn't eat the cake 'til you got here."
"That was very thoughtful of her," Shinzui smiled, following Ami and Chibiusa into the living room where the other girls were.
"Hooray! They're here! Cake time," Usagi announced happily, and went to get the plates. Shinzui settled herself in one of the plush chairs in the corner, and continued to smile as the sounds of her happy friends filled the room.

"Hey, where are you?" The tones were low, rich, and rumbled deliciously in her ear. The teal-haired beauty was broken from her reverie, and she turned to face her partner with a sweet smile. Haruka was smiling back, one of those rare genuine smiles, not her usual sarcastic half-grin. The racer reached up to brush a stray curl from her friend's eyes. "So where did you go this time?" she inquired quietly.
The lovely turquoise eyes were full of shadows as Michiru responded. "Something bad is going to happen tonight, Haruka," she said, looking down at the mirror in her hands. "The Mirror is full of darkness. I don't know what it means."
Haruka shook her head. "Well, let Sailor Orion and the other Senshi take care of it, if they want to," she declared.
"I can't believe you're still saying that."
"Look, it's not our responsibility," the sandy-haired tomboy insisted.
"Well, you may be able to just ignore it, but I can't. I'll go and help them alone, if I have to." Michiru's tones were very serious. "Haruka, I know that you're struggling with all of this. And normally, I'd trust your judgement. But after everything that's happened" Michiru sighed. "Don't you think your judgement has been somewhat impaired?"
Haruka turned away with a look of disgust, but she couldn't think of anything to say. It was true that these black feelings towards Shinzui / Sailor Orion were getting to be a bit of a nuisance. And they weren't getting better they were getting worse. Haruka hadn't told Michiru that, but in the hospital (or Celestial Hall or wherever the heck they'd been) the moment that Shinzui had stepped into the room as the Sacred Child, it was almost all she could do to keep from rushing at her and performing the sacrifice right then and there with her own bare hands. Where did this overpowering hate come from? Haruka didn't understand it, and she was growing more and more frustrated with her own uncontrollable emotions. What was she going to do? A growl escaped her throat, and as Michiru's hand touched her shoulder, she slapped it away roughly. Michiru stared at her in surprise, and quickly withdrew her stinging hand. That was enough to bring Haruka to her senses, and her eyes widened as she looked at her partner. "I I'm sorry, Michiru," she said, shaking her head, trying to clear away the nasty little dark clouds floating through her brain. "I didn't mean to."
Michiru nodded, but now her eyes were wary. "It's all right, Haruka. Maybe you ought to go rest for a while I think all of this pressure is getting to you." Haruka nodded, but her voice was now a bit uncertain.
"All all right. I'm going to go lay down for a bit." She turned to head towards the bedroom, but then turned back. "I really am sorry, Michiru."
The aqua-headed girl smiled back at her gently. "I know." She sighed as her friend went into the bedroom and shut the door. Things were degrading, and degrading fast. Michiru hoped that Orion would find that Dagger soon.

There was a very loud chorus of giggles as the girls collapsed in a heap on the floor. They were playing Twister, and even Shinzui, with a little guidance from Centauri, was able to join in. She landed on the bottom with the other girls on top of her, and laughed just as much as they did as they all tried to disentangle themselves.
It had been a truly wonderful night for Shinzui, who was delighted to be in the presence of her Princess for so long. They'd had so much fun, playing games, eating cake, doing one another's hair Shinzui played the piano for them and taught them some new songs, and Usagi and Chibiusa had even managed to remain on friendly terms the entire evening. But as Rei fell on top of her and her hand brushed the priestess' shoulder, Shinzui sensed something a little disturbing.
"Rei, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, quietly so that the others wouldn't hear.
"All right," Rei answered curiously. "Umm we can go in the kitchen."
Shinzui rose to her feet. "I'm going to go get a glass of water," she said to the other girls.
Rei cleared her throat. "Uh, me too."
"Oooh, bring me some," Usagi said from her odd, sprawled-out position on the Twister mat. The two girls nodded, and then retreated quickly into the kitchen.
"Okay, what's up, Shinzui-san?" Rei wanted to know as she pulled three glasses from the cupboard.
"I was going to ask you the same question. What's going on? You're worried about something."
Rei stared at her for a moment. "How did you know that?" she wanted to know.
Shinzui shrugged, and took one of the glasses over to the refrigerator to fill it with ice. "When I touched you, I could feel it. It's a sort of sixth sense, you could say kind of like the way you are extra sensitive to the presence of evil. When I'm in contact with the people I'm close to, particularly the Senshi, I can get a sense of these things." She brought the ice-filled glass back to the counter and picked up the other two empty ones. "So tell me what's bothering you."
Rei sighed as she walked to the sink to fill the glass containing ice with water. "It's just that there's been a very strong evil that's been building up all day long and now it feels like every minute it's getting stronger and closer. I'm just worried that our party is going to be interrupted with Scout business."
The blind girl nodded, and her face was concerned as she brought the two ice-filled glasses over to the sink and added the water herself. "All right, then. You keep close tabs on what's going on, and if it gets really intense, warn me. But let's not bother the Princess and the others with this for right now, until we're certain." Rei nodded back in agreement, and the two girls carried the glasses back into the living room where Makoto was involved in an arm-wrestling match with, of all people, Ami.
Shinzui giggled when Centauri explained to her what was going on. "Oh, dear, Mako-chan, you're in for it now. Ami-chan always was very good at this."
"I'm beginning to see that," Makoto grunted, as the surprising strength of the smaller girl was actually becoming something of a challenge. "Have you been working out Ami-chan?"
Ami smiled up at her. "Not unless you call hours and hours of lifting and carrying all those heavy books in the library working out," she responded sweetly. After a few more minutes, though, Makoto's more powerful muscles won out, and Ami's hand was pressed to the table. The blue-haired girl tilted her head at her adversary. "Well done," she congratulated her.
Makoto was shaking out her arm. "You too man, remind me not to make you mad!" she teased. "Who knew being a bookworm made a person so strong? Maybe I should study more." She considered this for a minute, then shook her head. "Nah."

About three blocks away from Usagi's house stood a small grocery store. The lights in the front window switched off, and there was a shuffle as the "OPEN" sign hanging on the door was flipped over to read "Sorry, we're closed." A melodical but somewhat off-key whistle was heard as the store owner came out and turned to lock the door. Putting the key in his pocket and patting it with a smile, the man turned and walked towards his car.
Six pairs of eyes watched hungrily as the human opened the car door. "Human juice," three mouths hissed in unison; but the three-headed jaki didn't dare attack. Its orders were clear find the Sailor Senshi and then give up its body to Lord Narcissus. The creature looked down at the long, sleek silver object in its hand. It looked like a huge gun of some sort, with fancy knobs and dials all over and a bulb containing some kind of red liquid at one end. It wondered what the admiral was going to do with this thing. But that was not its mission its mission was to find the Sailor Senshi and that was what it intended to do. The dark thing began to creep along the roof of the grocery store, and it grinned as it went. Three mouths opened, exposing double rows of sharp, pointed teeth.
"Here, Senshi - Senshi - Senshi - Senshi," it hissed. "Come get jaki. Jaki is waiting."

At the same time, Shinzui and Rei both froze. Rei put her hand on Shinzui's shoulder questioningly, and the blind girl nodded without turning towards her. Centauri looked up at his mistress with concern. "Is something wrong, Shinzui?" he asked.
She rose to her feet, and her face was hard. "Jaki. And very close. I have to go."
"I'm coming with you," Rei declared.
The other girls looked up at them. "Hey, we're coming too," Minako protested as they all stood up. But Shinzui shook her head, even at Rei.
"No. All of you should stay here. Finish your game. This won't take long." Shinzui knew that might not be true. The presence of this evil spirit was stronger than any she'd felt before; there might even be more than one of them. But she didn't want the Princess and the other Senshi to be placed in danger. Quickly she took Centauri's harness, and the two of them left the house.
Rei scowled. "We can't let her do this alone," she declared firmly. "There's a really strong evil out there and I think we should face it with her."
"Right!" Usagi exclaimed, jumping up. Then she looked around her. "But, uh, we might want to find some other place to transform If my parents or Shingo wakes up" The other girls immediately agreed with her. Leaving the board game on the coffee table, they all filed out of the house, one by one.

Michiru's head also snapped up from her mirror. The darkness swirling within its depths now had a definite shape, and she knew that something was happening. But as she looked across the table at Haruka, she hesitated for a moment. Finally she stood up, holding the mirror. "I'm sorry, Haruka, but I just can't let them do this alone," she said. "I'm going." Her partner scowled, but didn't even look up from her bowl of rice. Michiru sighed, and grabbed her coat from the hook on her way out the door.
Haruka sat perfectly still for a moment. She used her chopsticks to bring another bite to her lips, but finally she set it down and rose to her feet. "Neptune can't fight alone," she grumbled as she went to get her own leather jacket from the coat closet. "We're partners. We fight together." Inwardly, she resolved to follow Michiru and keep an eye on her but she wouldn't interfere unless she really had no other choice. She was not going to give any help to that Orion.

Sailor Orion's tall black heels clicked with determination as she stalked towards the little storefront up ahead. That was where the jaki was; she could practically smell it. Orion paused as she reached the sidewalk. "All right, Negaverse scum, where are you?" she muttered under her breath. An evening breeze lifted her silvery pale hair from her shoulders, and that was when she felt her friends. She spun around to see the other six Senshi come running up behind her. Orion shook her head. "I thought I said you should stay behind," she chided them.
But Sailor Moon frowned. "No way," she insisted. "This is our planet too, and we Sailors stick together."
From the other direction came more running footsteps, as Sailor Neptune and Sailor Pluto joined them without a word. Sailor Orion shook her head as she gazed at all of her friends, but there was a smile on her face. "Come on, then," she said finally. "The jaki is up there." She pointed towards the top of the grocery store. The Senshi took a step forward, and then it appeared ugly, black, shining, with three equally grotesque heads.
"Pretty little thing, isn't it?" Sailor Neptune commented under her breath.
"All right, ugly," Sailor Venus bellowed up at the creature. "Let's get this over with."
Each of the three heads hissed at her, but the jaki did not appear to be too terribly intimidated by the nine Sailor Senshi glaring at it from the parking lot. It had accomplished its mission, and now it was up to Lord Narcissus. Sure enough, it could feel its body beginning to morph as its master took over. The three heads became gelatinous, moving towards one another and then into one another, forming a new single head and broad shoulders. The hulking, apelike body straightened and stretched until it was standing erect, and dark purple trousers and a lavender cape whispered into view. A crop of wavy lavender hair appeared, and then the amethyst-encrusted eyepatch settled itself around the face, and Narcissus' entrance was complete.
Orion cocked an eyebrow. "Little late for a social call, isn't it, my lord?"
Narcissus performed a sweeping, mocking bow. "Ah, Miss Orion. As obnoxious as ever, I see."
"What do you want, Narcissus?" This came from Sailor ChibiMoon, who quickly stepped up next to Sailor Orion. The smallest Sailor glared defiantly at the Negaverse admiral.
Narcissus grinned down at the tiny pink Senshi. "Oh good, you're here. Well, that makes my job much easier, doesn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" Sailor Moon demanded.
The lavender-caped villian bowed again. "And the illustrious Sailor leader. My, my."
"Get to the point, Narcissus," Sailor Jupiter barked harshly at him.
"If you insist." Narcissus turned towards Orion. "I've come for your life, Miss Orion or more correctly, I've come for your soul."
Sailor Orion snorted with amusement, and shook her head. "Haven't I already told you, Narcissus? I'm not that easy to kill."
"Oh, I think it can be arranged," Narcissus responded, reaching down to pick up something at his feet. He brought the gunlike machine up to his waist, and showed it to the Senshi.
Sailor Orion felt her mouth go dry as she stared at the Soul Dissolver. Oh, dear God, help us. She hadn't seen the Soul Dissolver for millennia; she'd assumed it had been destroyed. Her voice instantly froze. "Where did you get that, Narcissus?"
Narcissus grinned at her. So, Lady Slipper was wrong. Sailor Orion wasn't going berserk after all. "Oh, just a little something the Avatar pulled out of his basement. What's wrong? You don't like it?"
"Put it down." If Narcissus had known her better, he would have recognized the deadly venom in Orion's voice. But he was too pleased with himself to pay attention.
"Now why would I want to do a thing like that?"
"Because if you don't, I'm going to rip your arms off." Narcissus' eyes widened in surprise. Orion's voice hadn't changed; it was still cold as ice and threatening but there was something a bit different in the things she was saying. He realized that she'd never threatened him like that before, and he began to get just the teensiest bit nervous. But then he understood. Orion was afraid. She was really and truly afraid of this thing. And Narcissus grinned. He was the one with the power now.
"Oh, are you? And what if I just shoot one of your little Sailor friends here? After all, the Soul Dissolver hasn't been used since the time of the wars I for one would like to see it in action."
"If you touch that trigger, Narcissus, I will kill you. Slowly. I will hunt you down like the Negaverse scum that you are and I will remove your heart from your body and dissect it right in front of your eyes. The last thing you see will be the pieces of your own heart in my hands." The other Sailor Senshi were staring in shock at Sailor Orion, and Sailor Pluto frowned.
"Orion, what's wrong? What is that thing?"
"There's no time to explain, Pluto. All of you, get away from here. Now."
"No way," Sailor Moon answered stubbornly. "We're not leaving you here alone."
Sailor Orion turned towards her, and Sailor Moon's mouth dropped open at the frozen rage in the silvery eyes. "Leave, Princess. Now. Or I will kill you myself."
"Oooh, I'd like to see that," Narcissus chuckled from atop the store roof. "Dear sweet little Orion murdering her precious Princess. But then, that would be better than letting me shoot her, wouldn't it?" He chuckled again. "Would you Sailor brats like me to explain to you what this thing is?" he offered with an evil glimmer in his lavender eye. "This," he brandished the gun-thing again, "is a little device called the Soul Dissolver. It was invented by the greatest warrior of the Negaforce ever to fight for our cause the Prince of Darkness himself. It was designed, specifically, for the death of the Sailor Senshi."
Sailor Moon gaped at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Miss Moon, that the Soul Dissolver doesn't just take away life. It destroys the soul of the target. Once I've used it on you, you will disappear. Forever. You will never be reborn, you will never come back to bother the Negaverse again. You will be gone, and that precious little Silver Crystal of yours, too. So when Orion said she'd kill you herself, she was doing you a favor. The Soul Dissolver won't work on a dead body so at least you'd be reborn. However, I'm not going to give her that chance. You, and that little baby Senshi, and our dear Miss Orion I'm taking care of all three of you tonight. Say bye-bye to your precious little Sacred Sacrifice, Orion."
"Hey, baka, I'm not a baby," Sailor ChibiMoon snapped at him. "Take this!" She brandished her little pink wand and ran forward. "Pink Sugar"
"NO!!!!!!" Sailor Orion shrieked, chasing after her. But it was too late. Narcissus chuckled again, and raised the barrel of the Soul Dissolver.
The next few minutes seemed to blur past in slow motion for Sailor Moon, who was riveted to the spot. She couldn't seem to move her feet, and she watched, trancelike, as a stream of red evil burst from the gun and shot towards Sailor ChibiMoon. Sailor Pluto also lunged forward, but she was much too far away to be of any help. Sailor Orion reached for ChibiMoon, but the red power from the Soul Dissolver had already reached the smallest Senshi. ChibiMoon cried out in pain the highest, most agonizing sound that Sailor Moon had ever heard. That's my daughter I have to help her But Sailor Moon's feet would not obey her. She couldn't move. It felt like a dream. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury brushed past her towards ChibiMoon, but it was Orion who had caught her from behind, wrapping her arms around the tiny body. The force of the blast caused all the Senshi to be knocked backwards, skidding across the pavement, with Sailor Orion still clutching ChibiMoon. From out of nowhere, Sailor Uranus appeared behind Narcissus, knocking him to the ground and sending the Soul Dissolver spinning away across the roof of the store. Narcissus was stunned by the surprise attack, but was even more stunned by Uranus' fist landing squarely on his nose six times. She would have continued the physical punishment had all the Senshi not been distracted by the most terrible sound they'd ever heard.
Orion was screaming. This was the sound they least expected from the stoic, sarcastic Sailor Soldier, but it was loud and clear, and absolutely heartbreaking. The Senshi looked up to see some sort of pink energy it looked like Sailor ChibiMoon herself, rising from the little soldier's body. This transluscent ChibiMoon floated above them for a minute, and then began to dissolve in the night air, turning into a billion tiny pink sparkles of light that flew into the sky and got lost among the stars.
"NO!!!!!!" Sailor Orion screamed out again. "NO!!!!" She looked as if she was about to collapse over the little girl's body, but as the last of the sparkles faded away, Orion turned to look at Narcissus. If looks could kill, Narcissus would have been roasting in hell as she stared at him. "Narcissus," she said, and her voice was hoarse. "I don't have enough energy to kill you and save ChibiMoon as well. But I'm very tempted to try it anyway. I'm going to give you to the count of three to leave; and if you're still here by the time I reach two and a half I'm going to tear your head off." She rose to her feet. "One."
Narcissus, whose vision was still blurry and whose head was aching from the impact of Uranus' fist, was not in any condition to fight Orion at the moment. He did his best to muster a defiant grin, and met Uranus' stony gray eyes hovering a few inches from his own. That sealed it.
"Two."
The Negaverse admiral's battered form shivered as it melted out of the body of the jaki. Nearby, the Soul Dissolver also shimmered and disappeared he wasn't about to leave that behind, not now that he knew what it was capable of. As the confused jaki attempted to regain its bearings, Sailor Uranus summoned her Space Sword Talisman, and with one stroke the purity of the blade penetrated the evil spirit, purging its power and reducing it to a puddle of black shiny oil beneath her. The oil dissolved away, into the slates of the roof, and now, for the first time, Sailor Moon was able to move.
"CHIBIMOON!!!" she shrieked out, and flew to her future daughter's side. "ChibiMoon! Answer me!" Sailor Mercury also knelt down next to the tiny Sailor Senshi, and felt her wrist, then her neck for a pulse. She leaned her ear over the girl's mouth, but there was no breath. A tear trickled down the blue Senshi's face as she looked up at Sailor Moon.
"I'm sorry, Usagi-chan She's dead."
"No, she's not. She can't be. She's okay she's okay" Sailor Moon was babbling hysterically as she pulled the pink soldier's body into her arms. She began to rock back and forth. "Chibiusa is all right. Chibiusa is all right," she mumbled, over and over again as if the mantra would somehow fulfill itself.
"Sailor Moon." The deep, rumbling voice could only belong to one person, and the man with the white mask knelt down next to her. Sailor Moon looked up to meet those beloved blue eyes, which at the moment were also filled with tears.
"Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she sobbed, reaching one hand out to grip the edge of his cape. "ChibiMoon she's okay, right?"
Tuxedo Kamen's eyes also spilled over as he looked down at the pale, lifeless face of his daughter. "She's not okay, Sailor Moon." He put an arm around the trembling Sailor leader. "I'm sorry I didn't get here in time" His voice broke and he couldn't say anything else. He just pulled Sailor Moon into his arms and for a moment, the two of them cried together.
"No. No, I don't believe it. I don't," Sailor Moon repeated through her tears, over and over.
Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars dropped to their knees, their faces streaming, and clung to one another. After a moment, Sailor Mercury joined them, putting her arms around her friends as their shoulders shook with grief. They just couldn't believe it either. One minute they were all together, and now ChibiMoon was gone. Dead, just like that. It didn't seem possible. Sailor Neptune had to turn away from the sceneshe couldn't bear to look anymore. And Sailor Pluto herself had a tear on her cheek as she turned to Sailor Orion.
"Orion," she said softly, her timeless voice echoing in the evening air. "You said you might be able to save her. Is that true?"
Orion regarded the dead child again with her own tear-filled eyes. "It is true. I'm not sure that it is going to work, but I have to try." She looked up at the dark sky, spangled with stars. "We're fortunate that Narcissus attacked us at night, for the stars would not hear me during the day and there would be no hope at all. But I must hurry, before her soul dissipates too far for me to recover it."
Sailor Moon pulled herself from Tuxedo Kamen's shoulder to stare at Sailor Orion. "You mean, she might be okay?" she asked tremulously, her voice beginning to glow with a spark of hope.
Orion met her eyes. "I don't know, Princess. It's never been done before. But I swear to you I will bring ChibiMoon back, or die trying." She turned to look up at Uranus, who was still standing on the grocery's roof. "Uranus, I need your sword."
Sailor Uranus glared down at her. "No."
Orion's eyes narrowed. "Listen to me, Uranus. You can hate me all you want to, but I am not going to let you sacrifice this child's life for your stubborness. Either you give me that sword, or I'm going to take it from you. We don't have time for this."
"Give it to her, Uranus," Sailor Neptune urged. But Uranus' face was set.
"You're going to have to do this without me, Orion," she insisted. "I don't want any part of it."
"Do you want a part in the responsibility for ChibiMoon's death?" Sailor Orion snapped back at her in fury. "Do you want to live with the fact that your pride killed her?"
"She's already dead!"
"Uranus, please. PLEASE!!" Sailor Uranus turned to see Sailor Moon staring at her with enormous blue eyes, and her heart twisted at the girl's anguished plea. She might be able to refuse Orion, or even ChibiMoon but not Sailor Moon. She just couldn't do that. With a resigned nod, Uranus leapt from the roof and landed in front of Sailor Orion. She held out the sword.
"I'm not doing this for you," she said coldly as Orion took the talisman from her.
"I know. It doesn't mattter," Sailor Orion responded, drawing the sword from its jeweled sheath. The bright, magical blade glowed softly in the darkness. Orion looked at it for a moment, and then strode over to where ChibiMoon was lying, still clutched in her future parents' arms. Gently she took the girl from them and laid her out, flat on her back, on the pavement of the parking lot. She summoned her Music Sphere.
"All right, everyone, you're going to want to stand back, and stay very quiet for this to work," she said. Then she stripped off the glove on her right hand, and did the same to ChibiMoon's limp little body. She took the bright blade of Uranus' sword, and in one smooth motion that was almost a caress, she drew the inside of her palm along the edge of it, hissing between her teeth as the metal parted the flesh of her hand. A long crimson line immediately swelled up there. Then she took ChibiMoon's hand, and ever so gently ran it along the blade as well. The blood that appeared was very dark, almost black for lack of oxygen.
"What are you doing?" Sailor Moon wanted to know in horror, but Orion did not look up. The Sacrificial Soldier just shook her head as she laid the sword down next to her.
"Her life force is not what's important now it's her soul that we need. My power, from the Realm of Soul, is Music, and Music expresses the soul itself. I'm going to give her enough of my energy to keep her body warm, for her soul will not return to a cold body." She took the child's bleeding hand in her own, and pressed the cuts together. She began to hum softly, and the Orion Music Sphere, hovering in the air next to her, also began to hum and to glow. The glow spread, enveloping both Sailor Orion and the lifeless Senshi on the ground. The warm glow surrounded the child, and slowly began to lift her from the pavement so that she was floating, supported by a bubble of warm energy.
"Now, the hard part," Orion said to the onlookers. "Sailor ChibiMoon's soul was extricated from her body, and dissolved into the rest of the Posiforce. But souls diffuse through the Posiforce like perfume diffuses through a room and if I can reach all the tiny particles of her before they get out of earshot, and if I can convince them to return to us and form a soul again, it just might bring ChibiMoon back to us."
Sailor Mercury nodded in understanding, though Sailor Venus looked very confused. "How are you going to do that?" she asked.
Orion sighed. "With music. The most powerful transmitter for communication with the Posiforce itself is the stars You've heard that old rhyme 'Star Light, Star Bright, First Star I see tonight,' haven't you?" The Senshi nodded. "Well, that's actually a very ancient connection that allows communication with the Posiforce. Now people just use it for silly wishes, and so it doesn't work as well as it used to, but there was a time when it was one of the most powerful tools that the Posiverse possessed."
"But if it doesn't work as well now, then"
"How do I know it's going to work?" Sailor Mars nodded, and Orion shook her head sadly. "I don't. But it's our only chance. I'm going to pour all of my strength and power into the song, and hopefully the Posiforce will hear it and get our message to ChibiMoon."
"Can we help?" Sailor Jupiter wanted to know.
"Well, there's still the matter of convincing the particles of ChibiMoon's soul to return to us. If they are enjoying their new freedom and power in the Posiforce, they may be reluctant to come back. It would help if all of you were to think about her think about how much you love her and really feel those loving emotions. If her soul feels love, it will be more likely to return. Love is, after all, the glue that holds a soul together, so to speak." Orion took a deep breath. "Now, everyone, you have to be very quiet. The more intense and clear the song is, the better chance we have that the Posiforce will hear it."
She looked down at the small body, suspended in midair in front of her, and she kept a tight grip on her hand, continuing to feed her own lifeforce into the inanimate child. She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her strength. The other senshi didn't know how much strength this was really going to take she hadn't wanted to frighten them. But Orion knew that she probably would not come out of this alive. If she was going to make this work, it was going to take every ounce of energy she possessed, and then some. But she had to try. She took yet another deep breath, and then sang: "Heavenly Symphony!"
The Sailor Senshi listened in amazement as a new melody, one they'd never heard before, began to play from the Music Sphere. And Orion began to sing, her sweet, melodical voice ringing out clearly in the quiet night air, seeming to soar up to the very stars themselves. Sailor Moon closed her eyes, and thought about Chibiusa. "Please come back. Please, please, please," she whispered.
Sailor Orion closed her eyes, filling each note with her own energy. The Starlight Lullaby took on a life of its own, as it soared into the sky. It was not entirely a mournful or even a somber song, for Orion certainly did not want to depress ChibiMoon's spirit. It would never want to return if that were the case. So she added something of a brightness, a pleasant rhythm, and the beautiful words flew from her soul into the stars, carrying their message with every bit of power that she had.

"Sometimes the darkness will fill me with fear
Sometimes I feel my worst nightmares are near
The night is so cold and I cry all alone
I cannot remember; I've lost my way home
With blackness before me and blackness behind
I turn to the heavens and there will I find

"Star Light, Star Bright
The only star I see
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have just one dream granted to me
Star Light, Star Bright
It's dark and I can't see
I need your little shining light
To bring life to the Child that's here with me."

Halfway through the song, a trickle of blood appeared from Sailor Orion's nose. She was losing energy fast, and the music was becoming painful. Good thing I like pain, she thought to herself wryly as she continued to sing. Trying to keep ChibiMoon's body stable with her own lifeforce and pour her strength into the music as well was becoming too difficult, and so Orion released the little girl's hand. She'd just have to hope that the music would be enough to keep the body warm, because she had to conserve her strength.

"I don't fear the darkness, the nightmares, the night
For all of these things cannot drown out the light
Of the single sweet star that is guiding me home
And my heart sings for joy; I'm no longer alone
The glow from my star beams down brilliant and true
Dear Child, don't you know that this bright star is you?"

She was beginning to falter now, she could feel it. There had still been no sign that the Posiforce had even heard her, and her voice trembled a bit as she reached the last lines. I can't do this. I'm not going to make it, she thought to herself. Her energy was nearly gone. Just as she began the chorus for the second time, however, something finally happened. There was a pink sparkle in the air above the floating child. Orion's eyes widened it was working!! A few more sparkles then appeared, and Sailor Orion redoubled her efforts, throwing everything she had into the music. She ignored the blood from her nose that was now streaming down her face. She ignored it when her bottom lip cracked and began to bleed as well. That didn't matter now it was working it had to work.

"Star Light, Star Bright
The only star I see
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have just one dream granted to me
Star Light, Star Bright
Please listen now to me
And never stop your shining
Sweet Child, you are so beautiful to me."

As the last verse progressed, the air began to sparkle more and more. Suddenly there were thousands, millions even, of the tiny soul fragments glittering in the air. A form began to take shape a little girl, made up of translucent pink energy, hovering right above the lifeless body of the Sailor Soldier. That's it, that's it, Sailor Orion cheered inwardly as more and more of the child's soul returned to them; her shoulders, her chest, her arms, her legs the song was over but she wasn't quite fully formed yet, so Orion kept singing. Now Orion herself was leaning on the music. All of her power was gone, but if the particles were still listening to her she could at least help them get here. She had nothing left and so only the music itself was sustaining her she fed off of her own power just long enough to keep singing. "Oh, sweet Child, you are so beautiful to me."
And it was done. The feet materialized in the last few moments, and ChibiMoon's soul began to drift downwards, melding back into her body. The glow from the Orion Music Sphere faded, and the tiny Sailor Senshi was lowered gently to the pavement once again. Sailor Orion had just enough time to witness the small chest heave, and the dark russet eyes fluttering open and then the music was gone, and so was she. Without a sound, the Sacrificial Soldier crumbled to the ground, and the world went black.

Back to Part Fourteen
On to Part Sixteen
Back to the Library
Back to the Refuge

Editor's Note: If you'd like to hear a sound clip of the Starlight Lullaby, there is one available in the Music Hall!