Act 4 - Victory
Midnight came downstairs, a huge smile on her face. That was just what she needed, some nice, not-so-innocent fun. Too bad Joji seemed to think that she was interested in him for more than his body. How pathetic was he? As if someone in her position would ever fall for a lowly gardener, no matter how good-looking.
She laughed, remembering the goofy look on his face as she handcuffed him to the bedpost. The poor guy actually believed that she had snuck downstairs to get some sweets to snack on. She wondered how long it would take little Joji to figure out that she had no intention of returning.
Spotting her brother, Midnight started to walk toward him when she stopped in her tracks. Shadow was not alone. A beautiful girl with long curly blue hair was in his arms. She watched in surprise as he bent down and kissed the girl tenderly on the lips, their embrace growing more passionate with every passing moment. A few seconds later, the girl pushed him away and ran off, Shadow looking longingly as she left.
"So, Shadow has a little girlfriend," Midnight said silently to herself. "I could have some fun with this juicy piece of information."
Her brother wasn't exactly known as a ladies' man. Sure, he had had a couple of girlfriends, but most of the time he was too busy with training to date. Besides, his philosophy on sex was that it just got in the way of the truly important things. As he always said, "A warrior should strive to focus all his energy on the fight, like a monk who gives up all worldly pleasures to become closer to God. Only then will he find the ultimate power."
Of course, Midnight did not follow her brother's example, finding it much to rigid for her taste. What was the purpose of living if you couldn't have fun every once in awhile? Although most would agree she indulged in pleasure a little too much.
"So, Shadow, who's your new friend?" Midnight asked, coming up behind him. Her appearance must have startled him, for he practically jumped a foot off the ground at the sound of her voice, which made her all the more suspicious. What was he hiding?
"Uh…nobody," he answered a little too quickly. "We were just dancing."
"Really? It certainly looked like the two of you were getting friendly."
"Speaking of which," Shadow said, changing the subject, "where the hell have you been? Our father sent us here to steal the crystal, not for you to flirt with every guy in sight."
"Hey, could I help it if little Joji found me more interesting than that plain Jane wallflower he was with?"
Shadow glanced down at his watch. It was almost ten o'clock. The crystal would be presented to the guests in just a few minutes, so they didn't have much time. He grabbed Midnight's wrist and roughly pulled her behind one of the massive ice sculptures.
"It's time," he whispered. "Have you chosen the victim?"
"Victim?"
Midnight mentally kicked herself. She was so preoccupied with Joji, she completely forgot that she was supposed to select one of the guests to hypnotize. She quickly scanned the room for a suitable candidate, her eyes landing on Shadow's mystery girl in blue.
"How about her?" Midnight suggested, pointing toward Dreama Aurora. "She seems like an easy target."
"I don't know, Midnight," he replied, annoyed that she had chosen the princess just to spite him. "Shouldn't we pick someone stronger who would be able to hold his own against the Queen's guards?"
"Nonsense. You promised me I would get to choose the puppet, and I choose the girl in blue. If you don't agree, you'll just have to find another person to perform the mind control."
"Man, Midnight, why do you always have to be so difficult?" Shadow said, realizing he had no choice but to go along with her demand. If he protested too much, it would arise Midnight's suspicions. "Okay, we'll use the girl, but hurry up. We only have five minutes until the presentation."
Midnight smiled, glad that she was getting her way. She then reached for the onyx amulet that hung from her neck, focusing all her energy on Dreama Aurora, and cast her mind control spell.
NIGHTMARE BRAIN WAVE!
Yumeko frantically searched the crowd looking for Phoenix. Had he seen her kissing Shadow? She hoped not. They were in such a dark corner, it was unlikely that anybody saw them, but she had to be sure.How could she be so stupid? She should have just declined Shadow's invitation to dance in the first place. None of this would have happened if she hadn't taken his hand. Her entire future was in jeopardy.
However, her lips still burned from the passion of Shadow's kiss. There was no doubt about it, there was major chemistry between the two of them, but she had to be reasonable. Other than the fact that he was incredibly handsome, she knew next to nothing about him. For all she knew, he could be a murderer. Besides, she was already engaged to Phoenix. She would just have to forget about Shadow and the lustful feelings she had toward him.
Yumeko was getting worried. She couldn't find Phoenix anywhere. It was as if he had disappeared. She was about to give up when she spotted Ryoko talking to Tokemi and Hana in the garden.
"Ryo-chan, do you know where Phoenix is?" Yumeko asked, trying to act as if nothing was wrong. "I need to talk to him."
"I don't know. After we finished dancing, he said he had to do something. I assumed he went to find you," she answered, glancing down at Yumeko's hand. She grabbed the princess's wrist, amazed at the beauty of the heart-shaped sapphire ring. "Did Phoenix-san give you that? It's beautiful!"
Yumeko nodded sadly as the other girls admired it. That stupid ring! She wished she never laid eyes on it. What once she saw as a simple token of affection now was a symbol of a broken promise. The brilliance of the stones seemed dimmed in light of the kiss, and even the deep blue of the center sapphire had paled in her eyes.
Then suddenly a bright light flashed before Yumeko's eyes, coming out of nowhere. Her head was killing her, and she felt a little faint. Tokemi looked at her cousin in concern.
"Yumeko, are you feeling well? You don't look too hot. Maybe you should just go back to your room."
She waved Tokemi away, insisting everything was fine. She was sure it was nothing. Just a minor headache. Tokemi didn't seem convinced, but didn't push the subject.
Diana, Elysia's mother and the queen's guardian cat, walked up to the girls and tugged at the hem of Yumeko's dress to get her attention.
"Princess, it's time for the ceremony."
Yumeko sighed. She needed to find Phoenix, but it was her duty to present the Dream Crystal as she did every year.
Reluctantly, she followed Diana, resolving to find him right after the ceremony, as Tokemi looked on, worry in her ruby red eyes.
In the privacy of King Helios' prayer room, Phoenix kneeled before the sacred fire, which illuminated the otherwise dark room with a warm soothing glow, and began chanting a familiar prayer of forgiveness.
The image of Yumeko kissing that other man played over and over in his mind, permanently branded into his memory. How could she do this to him? He did not know if he could ever forgive his beautiful fiancée for her betrayal.
Yet, he knew in his heart that the fault was not Yumeko's alone. He was also to blame. It was no secret to Phoenix that Yumeko was not in love with him. He had always known the truth, but chose to ignore it, thinking that once they were married, Yumeko would learn to love him as much as he loved her. He now knew it had been a mistake.
Phoenix sighed. He knew he should be angry. He wanted to be angry at her, but he could only feel deep disappointment. Even after what she did, he still loved her with all his heart and soul. Nothing she could do would ever change that.
He remembered the first time he met her. Yumeko had been about six years old, and he was eight. His father, the great General Leo, was being honored by the king and queen for his many years of service to the kingdom, and there was to be a huge dinner at the palace, celebrating his anniversary.
Phoenix had not wanted to come. He recalled fondly that night before the dinner. His mother practically had to tie him down to a chair before she could dress him. Every time she managed to get an article of clothing on his body, he would immediately take it off, parading around his bedroom in just his socks and underwear. It must have taken at least an hour before he was finally dressed and ready to go.
When they arrived, Phoenix had been annoyed to discover that he would have to sit at the children's table with the sailor princesses. At that time, he had not discovered the opposite sex, still believing that all girls were stupid and had cooties. An entire evening spent with a group of nine giggly, silly girls was not his idea of a fun time.
As (bad) luck would have it, he was assigned a seat between Princess Suki of Venus, the ultimate girly-girl, and Princess Ryoko of Mars, who promptly developed a huge crush on him that continued to this day. It was every little boy's nightmare come true. He most likely would have gone crazy had it not been for the presence of the blue angel sitting across the table from him.
For the first time in his life, he understood why anybody would want to kiss a girl. Princess Dreama Aurora of Elysion was the prettiest girl he had ever seen in his short life. The entire dinner he could not take his eyes off her.
After the meal, he finally built up the courage to speak to her. All the adults had begun dancing to the music of a small orchestra, so he decided to ask Yumeko to dance. At first, she declined
and hid behind her mother's long, flowing gown, but with a little prodding from Queen Lady Serenity, she agreed.
The dance was awkward, and Phoenix could no longer remember the title of the song that was playing, but it was the single most important moment of his life. At that moment, he fell in love.
"Yumeko…" he whispered as the flame flickered.
He knew he had no choice. Yumeko deserved to be happy, and if that meant losing her forever, so be it. He would not be the cause of her unhappiness any longer. Because he loved her, he would set her free.
Yumeko stood at the beginning of the long, silver carpet, holding in her hands a small black velvet pillow. On the soft material rested her mother's Dream Crystal, the source of Silver Millennium's power. She never felt truly comfortable handling the crystal, afraid of its awesome power, and couldn't wait until theceremony was over and she could talk to Phoenix.
She quickly scanned the crowd, searching for her missing fiancé, but again she could not find him. Where was he?
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Yumeko began the endless walk down the carpet. All eyes were focused on her and the crystal. She felt like a fish in a glass bowl, everybody examining her every move.
And her headache was getting worse by the minute. Why did she have to do this right now? She had to find Phoenix.
Glancing ahead at her parents, who were sitting on their thrones at the end of the carpet, it seemed as if they were drifting away from her. This was taking too long. She was so tired and weak…
"Yumeko!"
Tokemi ran onto the carpet and grabbed the princess as she fainted into her arms. She knew something like this would happen. The guests gasped as the queen and king ran over to their daughter.
"Yumeko, wake up," Tokemi said, gently shaking her cousin. "Please, Yumeko! You have to wake up!"
Eventually, Yumeko slowly opened her eyes, much to everybody's relief. However, there was something different about their beloved princess. Her eyes were staring blankly ahead, not seeing anyone around her.
Helios kneeled down beside his daughter and took her hand. "Yumeko, are you okay?" he asked softly. "It's me, your father. Speak to me."
Much to his surprise, Yumeko pushed him away with a violent force. She then sat up and felt around on the floor, her hands wrapping around the Dream Crystal. Her eyes were no longer the color of the golden sun. They now glowed a deep, fiery red.
"I must have the crystal," Yumeko said in a mechanical voice. "I need the power of Silver Millennium for my master, the great King Scorpio!"
"King Scorpio? Yumeko what are you talking about?" her mother asked, reaching for the crystal.
"Get away from me!"
Yumeko stood up, her eyes glowing more brightly, and began running toward the exit, pushing away anybody who dared to get in her way. The queen prepared to run after her, but was held back by Ryoko.
"Stay here, Your Majesty," she ordered, pulling out her transformation pen. "This is a job for the Sailor Dream Soldiers."
Hidden in the darkness, Midnight smiled. The plan was going better than expected. Choosing Dreama Aurora was a stroke of genius. Who would have guessed that she would have turned out to be the crown princess of Silver Millennium?
Her wrist communicator beeped. "Midnight?" Shadow's voice said. "How is it going in there?"
"Perfectly. The puppet has the crystal and is heading toward the throne room. I'll meet you there."
"Good," he said, sounding pleased. "As much as I hate to say it, you managed to do something right for a change."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Just get your butt over here!"
In the throne room, Shadow began pacing around. Even though victory was assured, he could not relax until the Dream Crystal safely in his hands. Finally, after all this time, the crystal would be theirs.
Midnight orbed into the room a few seconds later and took a seat in the queen's throne. Shadow rolled his eyes as his sister placed Queen Lady Serenity's crown on her head and admired herself in a nearby mirror.
"This is not the time to play dress up, Midnight," he scolded. "The girl will be here any minute with our crystal."
Midnight pouted. "But this crown suits me so well, don't you think?"
She reluctantly took off the crown and set it back on the throne. Shadow was right. There would be plenty of time later for that. With the raise she was sure to receive, she would be able to buy all the tiaras her heart desired.
The door opened, and Dreama Aurora entered the room, still under Midnight's spell. The crystal shone brightly in her hand, filling the room with its soft, holy light. Shadow breathed in deeply at the awesome sight.
"Beautiful…"
Midnight muttered something under her breath, which sounded suspiciously like, "The girl or the crystal?" Shadow ignored her snide comment and reached out to take the crystal from Dreama Aurora's small, delicate hand.
He could feel the crystal's power build inside him, even stronger than he expected. The power of dreams was a truly awesome force and now it belong to the Delian Nightmare Alliance. With this crystal, King Scorpio would rule the entire universe.
"Drop that crystal!"
Shadow glanced up, an evil smile on his face. Dreama Aurora's friends, now transformed into the Sailor Dream Soldiers, stood at the entrance of the throne room, prepared to attack. However, Shadow wasn't worried or even surprised at their appearance. He figured they would show up sooner or later, although he had expected the queen's court, not these fledgling princesses.
"You're late, Sailor Dream Soldiers," he said, wrapping his fist around the crystal, causing the light to disappear. Dreama Aurora, no longer needed, fell to the floor, limp as a rag doll.
Pluto ran over to her cousin as Sailor Mars, the unofficial leader in Yumeko's absence, stepped forward. "That crystal belongs to Queen Lady Serenity and, as the warriors of Silver Millennium, we won't allow evil beings like you to possess its holy light. Prepare to meet your doom!"
BLACK SHADOW DANCER!
Yumeko began to shake violently in Pluto's arms as a dark form rose from her body like smoke from a blazing fire. The shadow separated from the princess's body, growing larger and larger, taking on a life of its own. "Get them, youma!" Shadow ordered.
JUPITER FLOWER SHOWER!
A blast of daisies hit the monster full force, but instead of injuring it, an invisible barrier surrounding the shadow repelled the attack and actually seemed to use Jupiter's power to grown even bigger. Venus decided to try her luck.
VENUS LOVE CHARM!
Again, the monster remained unharmed. Midnight let out a laugh. How pathetic! They couldn't even fight a simple shadow demon. She had to hand it to her brother, though. He really knew how to handle his powers.
The shadow, filled with both Sailor Jupiter's and Sailor Venus's powers, sent a blast of energy toward the two Dream Soldiers. Though they tried to fight, it was just too tiring. The girls fell to the ground, weak from the attack.
"What are we going to do?" Uranus asked, going over to her twin. "Our attacks are just absorbed and used against us. He's too strong!"
Mercury, who was standing off to the side, studying the monster, furiously typed some information into her mini-computer. She had a hunch on how to defeat the monster, but she wasn't sure if it would work. They had to do something though, or Silver Millennium would be doomed.
"Saturn, try to put that thing to sleep!" she ordered.
SATURN SILENT SLUMBER!
The monster began swaying side to side as Saturn's sleep dust worked its magic. There was just too much dust for the shadow to shake off in time. Much to Shadow's consternation, his monster closed his eyes and started to snore loudly.
"Get up, you idiot!" he yelled, kicking the sleeping black blob. The monster was out like a log.
"Quick, Neptune, aim an attack at the jewel on his forehead before he wakes up!" Mercury said. "The barrier was weakened by the dust."
NEPTUNE SEA LULLABY!
Just as Mercury suspected, the jewel was the monster's weak point. It screamed in agony, but it seemed that Neptune's attack alone would not be enough to destroy the shadow. The thing woke up, now angry that he was interrupted during his peaceful slumber.
"Kill those Sailor Brats!" Shadow shouted.
As the monster approached the Dream Soldiers, his eyes glowing a violent red, Mercury knew they had little hope of winning. The only other way she could think of beating it was the Sailor Planet Attack, but they needed all the Dream Soldiers for that. If only Yumeko would wake up and transform into Sailor Moon, they might have a chance, but it didn't look like that would happen anytime soon. She would just have to try her psychic attack and hope it would work. She had nothing to lose by trying.
MERCURY MENTAL CONFUSION!
Her desperation paid off. The monster looked at Shadow, then at Sailor Mercury, unsure of what to do.
"What are you doing?" he asked the monster. "Get her!"
Mercury countered with, "You don't have to listen to him. He's not your master. You are your own master!"
Shadow glanced over at his little sister and saw that she was again playing with those silly tiaras instead of paying attention to what was going on around her. "Midnight, I could use some help here!" he said, but it was no use. She was preoccupied with more important matters, like which crown looked better on her, the diamond or the amethyst?
The shadow's eyes switched rapidly from red to blue as he got more and more confused. Whose orders should he follow? Finally, he exploded from the confusion.
"What happened?" Midnight asked, snapping back to attention.
"It doesn't matter, Midnight," Shadow replied. "We've already won. Let's just go."
"I don't think so!"
PLUTO FREEZING KISS!
Shadow and Midnight became living ice sculptures. Before the attack wore off, Mars grabbed the crystal from Shadow's frozen hand."Damn you, Sailor Dream Soldiers!" he cursed when the affects of the attack disappeared. "You may gave won this time, but the war has just begun!"
With those chilling words, Shadow and his sister vanished in a puff of smoke, angry that they were beaten by a group of soldiers-in-training. The girls, on the other hand, were ecstatic at their first real victory. Wait until Miss Katsuna heard about this! They were all sure to get As in their battling class for this.
But their happiness was short lived. Though Jupiter and Venus appeared to be just fine, Yumeko had yet to open her eyes. Pluto shook her again, silently pleading to her cousin to wake up.
"Yumeko, it's me," Pluto whispered. "Please open your eyes. You have to be alright. Please wake up!"
Yumeko's parents, who could not stay away any longer, entered the room. Queen Lady Serenity stifled a shriek when she saw her only daughter's lifeless body in Sailor Pluto's arms. This couldn't be happening, not to her beautiful golden dream. Getting the Dream Crystal back was not worth sacrificing Yumeko's young life.
They went over the their daughter's side, sadness filling their hearts. King Helios kneeled beside her and took her tiny cold hand in his own. Tears streaked his face. He began praying silently.
Holy Elysion, hear my humble prayer. She's too young. The time of her eternal slumber has not yet come. Give me your power, the power of dreams to chase away the nightmares that consume her body.
Feeling the power course through his veins, Helios placed his hand on Yumeko's forehead, praying feverishly. Her entire body glowed a healing golden light.
"Papa… Mama…"
Yumeko slowly opened her golden eyes and focused them on her parents, who were now crying tears of joy. She was confused. What had happened? Why was she in the throne room?
"It's okay, sweetheart," her father said in his soft, comforting voice. "Everything's fine now."
Helios gently picked Yumeko up, knowing she was still very weak. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Take Yumeko up to her room and put her to bed, Helios," Serenity said, taking the crystal from Mars' hand. "I'll be there in a minute, after I tell the guests to leave. This is no time for a celebration."
