Act 19 - The Nightmare Ends

Nyx's violet eyes filled with tears when the Dream Soldiers and her children burst into the throne room. They had finally come. This nightmare would soon be over, although whether it ended with death or with life was not certain. It didn't even matter. She would welcome both with open arms.

As it was already, she already had one foot in the grave. Even if the Sailor Dream Soldiers were to defeat Scorpio, she doubt if she would live much longer. The beating she suffered earlier was far more extensive than those previous, for the queen was in intense pain almost continuously. Nyx was pretty sure that several of her ribs were cracked, and she coughed up blood at regular intervals, signifying possible internal bleeding. Her bottom lip was busted, and her left eye was practically swollen shut, although she did have limited visibility. She was also weak from improper nourishment and the loss of blood.

However, the sight of Apollo and Circe, her two precious children, gave Nyx strength. She smiled softly, realizing that they finally remembered and had reawakened. Her most treasured dream had come true…


MERCURY MENTAL CONFUSION!

VENUS LOVE CHARM!

MARS BURNING PASSION!

JUPITER FLOWER SHOWER!

SATURN SILENT SLUMBER!

URANUS ZEPHYR BLAST!

NEPTUNE SEA LULLABY!

PLUTO FREEZING KISS!

The combined attacks of the Sailor Dream Soldiers hit Scorpio full force, but instead of injuring him, the energy was sucked up by the negative energy of the crystal. They tried again, but the same thing happened the second time. The crystal grew even more dark as it fed on the wonderful energy the Dream Soldiers were sending it.

"What gives?" Uranus asked. "Our attacks won't work against him."

Mercury pulled out her computer and VR goggles to scan the crystal. "It appears that the negative nightmare energy is attracting the positive dream energy of our attacks, like a magnet, only the dark energy is more abundant, so instead of neutralizing the power, it instead converts all the energy to nightmare energy. We're only feeding him more power."

"But if we can't attack him, how are we supposed to beat him?" Mars asked. "There has to be some way to win."

"I can only think of two ways to possibly beat Scorpio. The first would be to find a crystal of even more power than the Dream Crystal, but that's impossible. It doesn't exist."

"And the second?"

Mercury sighed as the computer and goggles disappeared. "And the second is to use our transformation powers and hope that the combined energy is enough to overpower the negative nightmare energy."

Sailor Moon empathically shook her head as Apollo reached for her hand. "No. As the leader, I will not allow you all to sacrifice your lives. The use of the transformation powers will drain you of all your energy, causing almost certain death. It's too dangerous, and I cannot allow it."

"But, Sailor Moon, we have no choice," her cousin replied. "If eight lives will save the lives of billions, then that will be the price we must pay."

Tears welled up in the princess's golden eyes as she realized that her friends were serious about sacrificing themselves in order to defeat Scorpio. This wasn't supposed to happen! If only she had more power…

"Then I will use my powers, too," Sailor Moon declared. "If you all are going to die, then I want to die with you."

"No, you can't. You're the princess of Silver Millennium and the only heir to the throne," Pluto reminded her. "If you die, the whole kingdom will cease to exist after your mother's death. Sailor Moon, you must live so that the dream of a peaceful future will come. Don't you see? It's your destiny!"

"But Tokemi…"

Before Sailor Moon could protest, Pluto gave her cousin and best friend a hug and a light kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye, Yumeko…"

"Tokemi!"

Apollo pulled Sailor Moon close and turned her head away as the Sailor Dream Soldiers formed a small circle in the center of the room and pulled out their transformation pens. Their auras began to glow brightly as they focused on the energy and sent it toward Scorpio. However, it proved not to be enough. The crystal absorbed the energy, which Scorpio then sent back toward them as a large ball of bright light. The force knocked the Dream Soldiers to the ground, ensuring that if the use of their powers hadn't killed them, the reciprocal attack would.

The princess screamed as the bodies of her best friends fell to the ground, completely lifeless. Although Apollo had tried his best to shield her from witnessing the Dream Soldiers' death, it wasn't enough. Sailor Moon broke into sobs. Tokemi, Kaya, Ryoko, Suki, Tori, Hana, Kagami, Mai…

Sailor Delos was the next to step up. Though she was fairly new to her powers, she did know a couple of attacks. It probably wouldn't be enough to kill her father, but she had to at least try.

"Scorpio, you covered this once beautiful planet with the shadows of nightmares, taking away our dreams, and for that, I can never forgive you. On behalf of Delos, the planet of the supernatural, I call upon the great power of magic. DELOS MAGICAL ENCHANTMENT!"

A blast of golden light was emitted from her fingertips, even stronger than she had imagined, and hit Scorpio. Her father laughed as the energy was once again sucked into the crystal and threw it back at Sailor Delos. She was killed instantly as a horrifying scream filled the air.

"No, Circe!"

Apollo quickly turned his head toward the direction of the voice, recognizing it as his mother's. He was horrified to find that Nyx was chained to the wall, sobbing uncontrollably at her daughter's death. "Mother!"

Sailor Moon withdrew from his embrace and gently pushed Apollo toward his mother. "Get her down from there," she ordered softly.

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine, Apollo. Just go!"

After a few more seconds of silent deliberation, Apollo ran over to help Nyx as Sailor Moon turned toward Scorpio, anger filling her heart. She never thought that she could ever hate a person as much as she hated the evil man standing in front of her. Because of him, the people she loved most were dead. It was time for revenge.

"Nine down and one to go," Scorpio declared, holding up the crystal. "You might as well surrender now, Sailor Moon. You have no hope of winning."

"That's where you are wrong, Scorpio. My father always said that as long as the dream lives on, there will always be hope."

"Helios was a liar! The nightmare has come, and there is no hope left in the world. I am now the ruler of Elysion. INFERNAL NIGHTMARE POWER!"

MOON DREAM BEAM!

Please let this work, Sailor Moon thought, concentrating on the power coming from her scepter.

The two opposing forces met violently in the middle of the throne room, causing the entire room to shake. The battle consisted of a game of tug-of-war. At one minute it appeared she was winning, but then Scorpio would release more power, pushing her energy back. Sailor Moon could feel herself growing weaker and weaker as the battle continued. He was just too strong for her.

I'm sorry, Papa…

The last thing she heard before blacking out was Apollo calling out her name.


"Mother, it's okay," Apollo whispered as he pulled out the set of golden keys and began unlocking the chains. "I'm here."

"You came back…" she said feebly, her sobs quieting.

"Of course I came back. I couldn't leave you here."

He finally managed to free Nyx from the chains and took his mother in his arms, helping her stand up. She felt so weak, almost as if she could break at any minute like some kind of beautiful porcelain doll.

"I thought I would never see you again, Apollo," she said, crying softly on his shoulder. Her son gently rocked her back and forth, trying his best to comfort her. "But Circe… My poor Circe…"

"It's okay, it's okay…"

Suddenly, the floor began shaking underneath them. Nyx screamed as the ground cracked between them, tearing mother and son apart from each other. A bright light, almost blinding, filled the room. Shielding his eyes, Apollo squinted and saw the shadow of a young woman with long curly hair faint, completely worn out. His heart jumped in his throat.

"YUMEKO!"


Elysia paced around the dark hallway, unable to sit still. This was pure torture. She should be in there, fighting beside her mistress instead of staying out here doing nothing. What if Yumeko or the others needed her?

Her companion didn't seem to be doing much better. Phantom kept stealing glances toward the now closed door, the worry evident in his eyes. The two cats hadn't said much to each other since that accidental brush up between them right after the scouts left, but Elysia could tell that the handsome black cat was just as devoted to Apollo and Circe as she was to Yumeko.

Did I just say Phantom was "handsome"? Elysia asked herself, blushing lightly. She quickly blocked the thought from her mind. This was no time to act like some kind of silly school girl.

"I can't take this anymore!" she finally blurted out, interrupting Phantom from his silent vigil. "We have to get in there. The girls are in trouble. I can feel it in my bones."

"But the princess told us to stay out here, Elysia-san," Phantom replied. "It's too dangerous for us to go in there."

"I don't care, Phantom-san. Aren't you worried about Apollo-sama and Circe-sama?"

"Of course I am, but…"

"Then you must understand how I feel," she said, not giving him a chance to complete his sentence. "Don't you know of some way we can get in?"

Phantom slowly nodded his head, unable to lie to those lovely blue eyes. She really was quite beautiful when she wasn't trying to attack him. "There's a kitty door further down the hall that I normally use, but are you sure you want to go in there? It could be dangerous."

She rolled her eyes. "If you're such a scaredy cat, Phantom-san, you don't have to come with me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Just show me where the door is."

"I'm not scared!" he insisted. "Come on. If you really want to go in, we'll do it together."


Sailor Moon groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. Her body ached all over. What happened?

"Yumeko! Yumeko!"

Recognizing her guardian cat's voice, the princess turned her head. The golden-hued cat was violently shaking her with tears in her eyes. Or maybe it was one of the tiny earthquakes that was doing the shaking. She was so weak, it was hard to tell. "Elysia…"

"Yumeko, please don't give up," Elysia pleaded. "You are the only person who can stop Scorpio. Please, try!"

"But I'm so tired, Elysia. I don't have enough power left to defeat him on my own. The Dream Soldiers are dead… I'm all alone…."

Her golden eyes welled up as she recalled what had happened. Everyone she loved was dead, and it was all her fault. She just wasn't strong enough…

A single tear that rolled down her cheek began glowing brightly with a strong white light. Sailor Moon and Elysia gasped as the teardrop transformed into a perfect round crystal and floated into her hands. "Wha… What is this?" Sailor Moon asked, suddenly feeling much stronger. "I feel more powerful than before."

Pray to holy Elysion, the true source of the power of dreams.

"Papa?"

Elysia stared at her mistress, confused. Sailor Moon looked like she was in some kind of trance. "Sailor Moon, are you alright?"

Still under the crystal's influence, she slowly stood up, raising the crystal high above her head and closing her golden eyes. She finally understood.

"Holy Elysion, hear my prayer," she shouted. "I call upon the power of dreams to defeat this nightmare. Come to me!"

She was then suddenly covered with a golden light, brighter than even the most brilliant star in the heavens. Scorpio growled as he realized that little moon brat was still alive. How could she still be willing to fight?

Well, that could be easily remedied. He released another blast of negative energy toward the glowing figure, expecting it to absorb the strange golden energy surrounding the princess. Instead, it was the aura that absorbed dark power.

"What?! Impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible as long as the dream lives on."

With those words, the light disappeared, revealing an incredibly beautiful woman dressed in a long flowing gown of golden silk. Her unusual amber eyes sparkled with determination as she raised her father's sword above her head. Apollo, who had been watching the entire scene, gasped.

"Golden Dream, the guardian of dreams..."

Yumeko could feel the power flowing through her body, giving her the strength to continue. Was this the power her father had told her about? Was this her true destiny? The words engraved on the blade of the sword echoed in her brain: Until the day I die, I fight for the beautiful dream of Elysion.

That was her destiny, to fight for the dream.

GOLDEN DREAM FANTASY!


"Yumeko, please wake up," Apollo whispered, kissing the back of her hand. "Open those beautiful golden eyes that I love more than life itself."

"Apollo?"

She slowly opened her eyes, smiling at the sight of her friends looking down at her, wiping away tears of happiness. Apollo was wiping away a few tears himself as he gently took Yumeko in his arms, holding her close to him. He was so afraid he had lost her, and now that he found her again, he was never letting go.

"It's okay now. It's over."

With Apollo's and Sailor Uranus' assistance, Yumeko stood up, looking around the throne room. She still wasn't quite sure what had happened. The last thing she remembered was using her crystal to defeat Scorpio, whose dead body lay in the middle of the room. Nyx, or actually Eos, was kneeling beside him, wiping away a tear that had managed to escape.

"I'm sorry," Yumeko apologized, resting a comforting hand on Eos' shoulder.

The queen shook her head. "No, Princess, there's no need for an apology," she said softly. "My husband died a long time ago. This man was a stranger who deserved to die. The long nightmare is finally over, and we have you to thank. Helios-sama would have been so proud of you."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Circe gave her mother a hug, then helped Eos get up from off the ground. "Come on, Mother. You need your rest."

"That isn't necessary, Circe," she insisted. "I'll be fine."

Sailor Venus gasped. She had wandered away from the group to pull back the heavy velvet curtains covering one of the large windows so they could have some more light in the room and was surprised by the scene that greeted her outside. "Guys, come over here. You have got to see this!"

"What is it?" Saturn asked.

"Just get over here!"

The group quickly gathered around the large window, their eyes wide with amazement. The hideous desert around the palace had disappeared, replaced by an exquisite garden of golden roses. Yumeko had never seen anything so beautiful in her entire life.

Eos smiled her first true smile of happiness in fifteen years at the sight. "Delos… It's as beautiful as I remembered."


Yumeko sighed in happiness as she and Apollo walked around the garden, hand and hand. "I never imagined that a place this beautiful existed outside of Elysion," she said. "It's hard to believe that just a few hours ago, all of this was just a barren desert."

"I know."

He stopped beside one of the rose bushes and picked one of the perfect yellow roses, which he placed in her hair. "I love you, my beautiful Golden Dream," he whispered, bending down to softly kiss her on the lips.

"I love you, too."