Chapter 8
Trapped in the Palace
The Crystal Palace shook. Around the Palace, unseen by the citizens of
Crystal Tokyo, a black fog grew upwards. On top of Tokyo Tower, the boy
in black stood, watching with a smug look on his face. he thought. The
night air was then filled with his meanicing laughter.
----------
Adonis rushed at top speed towards the entrance of the Palace, trying
not to fall from the ground's shaking.
he thought as he turned a corner,
almost hitting it.
At the end of the hall he saw the six of the Senshi, who were
banging on the doors, along with another girl he hadn't seen before. As
he got closer and he saw her more clearly, his heart nearly stopped
beating.
Zukamori heard someone running towards them. She turned around and
saw Adonis. When she saw him, a feeling like electricity ran through her
body. she thought.
When Adonis saw her face, he skidded to a sudden stop. He must be
seeing things. This girl a few yards in front of him looked like the
angel that had caught his attention eariler. Her short hair; her eyes.
Minako turned from the door and saw the two staring at one
another. "Hey!" she said, catching their attention. "Are you two just
gonna stare at each other or help us? We've got to get out!"
Adonis shook his head. "It's no use."
They all stopped and looked at him.
"He's doing this," Adonis continued. "Nemisess." The shaking
underneath them began to worsen. "He's trying to trap us in the Palace!"
Adonis shouted over the rumble the ground made.
"Well, he's doing a good job as far as I can tell!" Makoto
responded.
"Trying to open the doors won't work," Minako said, mostly to
herself. "And he's doing this to the perimeter of the Palace, then the
safest place to be is in the center!"
"Then I suggest we haul butt thataway!!" Rei said.
Without saying anything else, everyone did as she said.
----------
Darkness filled the sky. Chibi-usa looked up at the moon, which had
turned blood red. The Crystal Palace, her home, was surronded by a
barrier that prevented anything from entering or leaving. Here and
there, youmas attacked everything in sight.
"What happened?" Chibi-usa said outloud. A bright light from
behind her flashed. She turned quickly. Behind her there stood a girl,
the light around her blocked her face from view. The girl raised
something to her mouth. A strangely shaped flute. As Chibi-usa watched,
the girl began to play a soothing melody. It took her a second to
realize what it was.
"The lullaby," she said quietly.
Above her, a form appeared. Chibi-usa looked up. It was the boy
the others had spoken of. He raised his hands together. A bolt flew
towards the flute player. Before it hit her, another boy jumped in the
way, protecting her. The boy screamed in pain as the bolt hit him.
The flute player stopped, shocked by the boy's actions. Chibi-usa
saw her mouth move, but didn't hear any sound.
"What is this?!" Chibi-usa demanded to no one as the boy threw
another bolt. "Stop it!!" she shouted to the attacker. "Stop it!! You're
killing him!!"
----------
"Turn left!!" Minako instructed.
The others followed her. Adonis was only half listening. He kept
looking at the girl running beside him. She looked so much like the
angel, it kept bugging him.
Zukamori caught him looking at her. she
wondered.
"Look out!!!" Hotaru shouted, cutting through their thoughts. The
earthquake had caused the foundation of the Palace to weaken and now it
began to crack and break apart right under their feet.
Zukamori slipped and fell face first onto the floor. she
thought as she sat up.
"Zukamori! Get up!!" Rei yelled.
Too late.
The floor collasped under her. For a second, she felt that
sickening feeling of being hung in mid-air. Her mouth opened in a silent
scream as she quickly bagan to fall downwards.
"ZUKAMORI!!" the Senshi shouted in unison.
Suddenly, she stopped moving all together. Zukamori looked up.
Adonis had dove and grabbed her hand at the last moment, keeping her
from falling. Zukamori could see the strain on his face as he kept
trying to hold onto her. The earthquakes didn't help one bit.
Zukamori thought.
Adonis himself didn't know what possessed him to save her. As he
had seen the floor underneath her begin to break and fall, his mind
recalled what he had seen eariler when Queen Serenity spoke to him, this
time only more. He saw the enormous hole in the ground....Serneity's
pained expression....the rock that flew....towards.....
Adonis snapped himself out of the trance he had gone into and
pulled Zukamori up. He grabbed her other hand to help. For some reason,
feeling her hands in his seemed so....normal....like they belonged
there.
When she was on her feet once again, Mianko spoke, "We have to
keep moving, but carefully and make sure all of us reach the others
safely!"
As they started again towards the center, only Hotaru noticed how
closely Adonis and Zukamori ran together.
----------
A white light shone out in the darkness. It grew brighter and
brighter until it became blinding. Then, the light dulled. It was the
flame of a single candle. A slightly tanned hand grabbed the bottom of
the candle and held it up. The flame casted shadows across the woman's
face Her free hand was pressed aginst over her eyes.
"Uhh..." she moaned. "...what...what....year...is
it...?....where's...the Queen...?" She let her hand drop to her side as
she heard footsteps. The woman's eyes were a light, pastel blue and they
had no pupils, showing she was blind. "Who's there?" she called to
whoever was coming closer to her.
"You're finally awake, Ruri?" a female voice said.
"Who--" Then she recognized the voice. "Luna? Is that you? Where
are you?"
The black cat jumped up on the woman's shoulder. "It's all right,
Ruri," Luna said when the woman gasped. "It's just me. But we have to
prepare. The others will be here soon."
"The others? The Senshi?"
"Yes, and some others."
"You mean Kyoko and Zukamori? They're here?"
"Zukamori is. Kyoko couldn't escape, though. Artemis and I are
going to try again."
"He'll be expecting you this time."
"I know," Luna replied sadly. "I know. I just hope Kyoko can help
us this time."
----------
"So we're stuck here," Edymion concluded from what the others had just
told him.
It was a few hours later. The earthquakes had finnaly stopped, yet
the floor of the entire Palace was now either uneven or broken into
boulders.
"We're sealed in," Minako sighed as she leaned against a large
boulder. "And we have no idea for how long. I'm guessing it's untill
Nemisess decides to attack us."
"Two months."
Everyone turned to Serenity. "He will attack us in two months."
"Usagi-chan," Makoto asked, "how do you that?"
Serneity sighed before telling them what happened to her right
before the earthquakes had started.
"So we only have two months to prepare," Rei said when she was
finshied. "But we have no way of contacting anyone outside the Palace so
we have no outside help. How do we prepare to fight him?"
"I know how," Hotaru spoke up. She turned to Minako. "It's time to
show them."
Minako nodded before standing up straight. "Follow me."
----------
"Wake up!!"
The woman with white hair shot awake as she felt a hand slap her
face. Her golden eyes focused on the person in front of her. "What do
you want, Zues?!" she snarled.
Zues smirked as she stood with her hands on her hip. "My, my, my.
Feeling a little mad today, Kyoko?" she taunted the captive. "Sorry you
couldn't get out along with your friend?"
Kyoko growled, wishing her arms or legs were free so she could hit
the girl in front of her.
"Ooo," Zues snickered, "hit a nerve, did I?"
"Feh!" Kyoko respoded. Her eyes glowed slightly. "But..." Kyoko
said with a smile, "from what I 'hear', Zukamori escaped, didn't she?
Tough luck!"
Zues narrowed her eyes as she slapped her again. "Stay out of my
mind, wench! I don't even know why Nemisess doesn't kill you! And,"
another smirk appeared on her face, "for your information, we found
her!"
Kyoko showed no sign of her surprise. she
thought.
"A couple of our guys picked a fight," Zues continued, "they got
one all right. They said at first she didn't do anything but look for a
way away from them, but then her eyes hollowed in that strange way they
all ways do. After that, she kicked their sorry butts."
"Nothing will stop her now," Kyoko said, a grin appearing on her
face, "she almost ready for what's to come. All they need is me."
"Which they won't get." Zues turned to leave. "Also," she turned
her head back, "Master has something in store for you. We're gonna get
what we want one way or another."
As she shut the cell door, Kyoko muttered under her breath, "He
ain't gonna get it from me. Not him, not Nemisess, not even you and your
fellow clones will get it."
----------
NEXT:Minako and Hotaru say they know how to fight Nemisess. What is it?
Why does Zukamori look like the angle Adonis saw? WHo was the blind
woman named Ruri? How does Luna know her? And what did Kyoko mean by
'clones'?
__________
Trapped in the Palace
The Crystal Palace shook. Around the Palace, unseen by the citizens of
Crystal Tokyo, a black fog grew upwards. On top of Tokyo Tower, the boy
in black stood, watching with a smug look on his face. he thought. The
night air was then filled with his meanicing laughter.
----------
Adonis rushed at top speed towards the entrance of the Palace, trying
not to fall from the ground's shaking.
he thought as he turned a corner,
almost hitting it.
At the end of the hall he saw the six of the Senshi, who were
banging on the doors, along with another girl he hadn't seen before. As
he got closer and he saw her more clearly, his heart nearly stopped
beating.
Zukamori heard someone running towards them. She turned around and
saw Adonis. When she saw him, a feeling like electricity ran through her
body. she thought.
When Adonis saw her face, he skidded to a sudden stop. He must be
seeing things. This girl a few yards in front of him looked like the
angel that had caught his attention eariler. Her short hair; her eyes.
Minako turned from the door and saw the two staring at one
another. "Hey!" she said, catching their attention. "Are you two just
gonna stare at each other or help us? We've got to get out!"
Adonis shook his head. "It's no use."
They all stopped and looked at him.
"He's doing this," Adonis continued. "Nemisess." The shaking
underneath them began to worsen. "He's trying to trap us in the Palace!"
Adonis shouted over the rumble the ground made.
"Well, he's doing a good job as far as I can tell!" Makoto
responded.
"Trying to open the doors won't work," Minako said, mostly to
herself. "And he's doing this to the perimeter of the Palace, then the
safest place to be is in the center!"
"Then I suggest we haul butt thataway!!" Rei said.
Without saying anything else, everyone did as she said.
----------
Darkness filled the sky. Chibi-usa looked up at the moon, which had
turned blood red. The Crystal Palace, her home, was surronded by a
barrier that prevented anything from entering or leaving. Here and
there, youmas attacked everything in sight.
"What happened?" Chibi-usa said outloud. A bright light from
behind her flashed. She turned quickly. Behind her there stood a girl,
the light around her blocked her face from view. The girl raised
something to her mouth. A strangely shaped flute. As Chibi-usa watched,
the girl began to play a soothing melody. It took her a second to
realize what it was.
"The lullaby," she said quietly.
Above her, a form appeared. Chibi-usa looked up. It was the boy
the others had spoken of. He raised his hands together. A bolt flew
towards the flute player. Before it hit her, another boy jumped in the
way, protecting her. The boy screamed in pain as the bolt hit him.
The flute player stopped, shocked by the boy's actions. Chibi-usa
saw her mouth move, but didn't hear any sound.
"What is this?!" Chibi-usa demanded to no one as the boy threw
another bolt. "Stop it!!" she shouted to the attacker. "Stop it!! You're
killing him!!"
----------
"Turn left!!" Minako instructed.
The others followed her. Adonis was only half listening. He kept
looking at the girl running beside him. She looked so much like the
angel, it kept bugging him.
Zukamori caught him looking at her. she
wondered.
"Look out!!!" Hotaru shouted, cutting through their thoughts. The
earthquake had caused the foundation of the Palace to weaken and now it
began to crack and break apart right under their feet.
Zukamori slipped and fell face first onto the floor. she
thought as she sat up.
"Zukamori! Get up!!" Rei yelled.
Too late.
The floor collasped under her. For a second, she felt that
sickening feeling of being hung in mid-air. Her mouth opened in a silent
scream as she quickly bagan to fall downwards.
"ZUKAMORI!!" the Senshi shouted in unison.
Suddenly, she stopped moving all together. Zukamori looked up.
Adonis had dove and grabbed her hand at the last moment, keeping her
from falling. Zukamori could see the strain on his face as he kept
trying to hold onto her. The earthquakes didn't help one bit.
Zukamori thought.
Adonis himself didn't know what possessed him to save her. As he
had seen the floor underneath her begin to break and fall, his mind
recalled what he had seen eariler when Queen Serenity spoke to him, this
time only more. He saw the enormous hole in the ground....Serneity's
pained expression....the rock that flew....towards.....
Adonis snapped himself out of the trance he had gone into and
pulled Zukamori up. He grabbed her other hand to help. For some reason,
feeling her hands in his seemed so....normal....like they belonged
there.
When she was on her feet once again, Mianko spoke, "We have to
keep moving, but carefully and make sure all of us reach the others
safely!"
As they started again towards the center, only Hotaru noticed how
closely Adonis and Zukamori ran together.
----------
A white light shone out in the darkness. It grew brighter and
brighter until it became blinding. Then, the light dulled. It was the
flame of a single candle. A slightly tanned hand grabbed the bottom of
the candle and held it up. The flame casted shadows across the woman's
face Her free hand was pressed aginst over her eyes.
"Uhh..." she moaned. "...what...what....year...is
it...?....where's...the Queen...?" She let her hand drop to her side as
she heard footsteps. The woman's eyes were a light, pastel blue and they
had no pupils, showing she was blind. "Who's there?" she called to
whoever was coming closer to her.
"You're finally awake, Ruri?" a female voice said.
"Who--" Then she recognized the voice. "Luna? Is that you? Where
are you?"
The black cat jumped up on the woman's shoulder. "It's all right,
Ruri," Luna said when the woman gasped. "It's just me. But we have to
prepare. The others will be here soon."
"The others? The Senshi?"
"Yes, and some others."
"You mean Kyoko and Zukamori? They're here?"
"Zukamori is. Kyoko couldn't escape, though. Artemis and I are
going to try again."
"He'll be expecting you this time."
"I know," Luna replied sadly. "I know. I just hope Kyoko can help
us this time."
----------
"So we're stuck here," Edymion concluded from what the others had just
told him.
It was a few hours later. The earthquakes had finnaly stopped, yet
the floor of the entire Palace was now either uneven or broken into
boulders.
"We're sealed in," Minako sighed as she leaned against a large
boulder. "And we have no idea for how long. I'm guessing it's untill
Nemisess decides to attack us."
"Two months."
Everyone turned to Serenity. "He will attack us in two months."
"Usagi-chan," Makoto asked, "how do you that?"
Serneity sighed before telling them what happened to her right
before the earthquakes had started.
"So we only have two months to prepare," Rei said when she was
finshied. "But we have no way of contacting anyone outside the Palace so
we have no outside help. How do we prepare to fight him?"
"I know how," Hotaru spoke up. She turned to Minako. "It's time to
show them."
Minako nodded before standing up straight. "Follow me."
----------
"Wake up!!"
The woman with white hair shot awake as she felt a hand slap her
face. Her golden eyes focused on the person in front of her. "What do
you want, Zues?!" she snarled.
Zues smirked as she stood with her hands on her hip. "My, my, my.
Feeling a little mad today, Kyoko?" she taunted the captive. "Sorry you
couldn't get out along with your friend?"
Kyoko growled, wishing her arms or legs were free so she could hit
the girl in front of her.
"Ooo," Zues snickered, "hit a nerve, did I?"
"Feh!" Kyoko respoded. Her eyes glowed slightly. "But..." Kyoko
said with a smile, "from what I 'hear', Zukamori escaped, didn't she?
Tough luck!"
Zues narrowed her eyes as she slapped her again. "Stay out of my
mind, wench! I don't even know why Nemisess doesn't kill you! And,"
another smirk appeared on her face, "for your information, we found
her!"
Kyoko showed no sign of her surprise. she
thought.
"A couple of our guys picked a fight," Zues continued, "they got
one all right. They said at first she didn't do anything but look for a
way away from them, but then her eyes hollowed in that strange way they
all ways do. After that, she kicked their sorry butts."
"Nothing will stop her now," Kyoko said, a grin appearing on her
face, "she almost ready for what's to come. All they need is me."
"Which they won't get." Zues turned to leave. "Also," she turned
her head back, "Master has something in store for you. We're gonna get
what we want one way or another."
As she shut the cell door, Kyoko muttered under her breath, "He
ain't gonna get it from me. Not him, not Nemisess, not even you and your
fellow clones will get it."
----------
NEXT:Minako and Hotaru say they know how to fight Nemisess. What is it?
Why does Zukamori look like the angle Adonis saw? WHo was the blind
woman named Ruri? How does Luna know her? And what did Kyoko mean by
'clones'?
__________