BLOOD OF THE IMMORTAL,
Chapter 10: "Unity in the Face of Evil"
By Bill K.
The pain seared through her. Sailor Moon struggled to hold on, to
keep from blacking out. She knew that if she lost consciousness and
allowed Ctesias to rip the Pink Crystal from her, Helios and everyone
else were lost.
"This is your unique crystal," she recalled Diana telling her the
day she returned from the twentieth century and showed her the Crescent
Moon Wand. "The crystal in your wand is a manifestation of the more
powerful crystal that has always resided in you. It is the source of
your power, the thing that feeds you and feeds from you."
"But I always thought I was going to inherit the Silver Crystal,
just like Mama," she remembered asking the supple gray cat. And she
remembered the proud smile Diana gave her.
"If the time comes, you shall, My Lady," Diana told her. "But you
possess even more than your mother or father in the way of potential,
for you are the sum of them both. Your Pink Crystal is the potential
sum of the Silver Crystal of Queen Serenity and the Golden Crystal of
King Endymion."
"You mean I could be more powerful than Mama?" she recalled
asking, then gulping to clear a suddenly constricted throat. "More
powerful than Pop?"
"More powerful than both," smiled Diana. "But that, of course,
depends upon you."
"What do I have to do?"
"Your very best, My Lady," the cat replied and even now Usa
thought she wasn't saying everything she knew.
So it was paramount that she keep hold of it. The Pink Crystal
was the only thing that could stop Ctesias. As she struggled to hold
on, Sailor Moon managed to pry an eye open. She expected to see
Ctesias, grim with fury or cold and mocking, gleeful over the misery she
was inflicting upon a simple teenage girl who wanted to be with her love
and her friends. Ctesias was grim with fury, all right, but there was
more. She could see pain in the woman's face, as if her efforts to
snatch the crystal were hurting her as much as it hurt Sailor Moon. It
was a fleeting moment's satisfaction gained.
"You spiteful . . ." Sailor Moon began, then had the thought cut
short by another searing jab of pain that cut through her chest. It
ripped a loud groan of agony from her and now it was Ctesias's turn to
feel satisfaction.
"Maiden!" she heard Helios call out to her with his mind. "You
must be calm! You must be at peace!"
The words barely had time to sink in before a new player entered
the fray. Lunging suddenly into her line of sight was Sailor Juno. She
was perched on the back of the sorceress, one arm wrapped around the
woman's throat and the other snapped across her forehead. There was no
boast from Juno's mouth. There was no demand to retreat or surrender.
There was only single-minded determination, focused on the thought of
twisting Ctesias's head until her neck snapped. Sailor Moon couldn't
recall ever seeing Juno that angry.
Not that it mattered. Grinding her teeth with rage, Ctesias began
to take on a red-hot glow. Though clearly burning, Juno hung on and
continued to apply pressure. Undaunted, Ctesias increased her intensity
until even Sailor Moon could feel Juno's flesh burn. Juno hung on until
she no longer had the strength, then fell away from the sorceress. She
lay on the floor, ugly burns on her chest and arms and the white on her
fuku horribly scorched. Instantly Sailor Ceres was by her side.
"Doesn't it matter how much pain and suffering you cause?" howled
Ceres. "Isn't there anyone or anything more important than you and your
goals?"
In response, Ctesias waved her hand dismissively at Ceres and
Juno. A force akin to a speeding car struck them and drove them into
the far wall. Ceres collapsed onto the still unconscious Juno and went
silent herself.
"No!" grunted Sailor Moon through clenched teeth. Her rage began
to well up again.
"That is not the way," Helios pleaded with her. "Clear your mind
of anger and hatred."
"Give me the crystal, little Princess!" demanded Ctesias. "I can
do to you what I did to your companions! You can't stand up against my
power!"
Sailor Moon only clenched her jaw harder. Every word out of
Ctesias's mouth now was like sandpaper on her nerves. She wanted oh so
desperately to cram every utterance and every unkind deed down this
woman's throat and watch her choke on it. But it seemed to be a losing
battle. Every moment the struggle lasted seemed to weaken her and
strengthen Ctesias. The pain was unendurable. It even seemed to drown
out the thoughts Helios kept trying to project into her mind.
"You will fall before me, little girl," Ctesias said, her eyes
blazing with rage and lust for power. "And when you do, I have so many,
many exquisite tortures to subject you to! You will know pain and
suffering the like you have never experienced before!" She gazed deeply
into Sailor Moon's eyes and the girl shuddered. "And while you linger
between agonies, I will torture your companions as well! You will hear
their screams and their pleas for mercy until you will beg your creator
to strike you deaf!"
Sailor Moon stared up at her and knew she meant every word of it.
It only made her desperation to succeed even greater, but it only seemed
to weaken her even more. Ctesias saw this and licked her lips.
"I find your fear quite tasty, little Princess," Ctesias sneered
in contempt. "The doubt in your heart is a pleasant appetizer as well!
How much longer can you hold out?"
Ctesias tugged on the spell holding the crystal and drew another
cry from Sailor Moon. The agony tore through Sailor Moon. Tears stung
her eyes. Breath came harder and harder to her. She clung to the Pink
Crystal with everything she had. If only the searing pain would stop.
She couldn't take anymore.
"Beautiful Incantation!" came the desperate plea, ringing through
the room.
Sailor Moon peered up through eyes half closed. From every side
Ctesias was being pummeled by invisible fists. Every blow she took
seemed to lessen the pain Sailor Moon felt. The sorceress seemed unable
to fight back, unable to direct a counterattack. The pummeling
continued and some small sense of hope began to grow within Sailor Moon
that Pallas could succeed where each of them had failed. Then she saw
Ctesias begin to gather herself and the fear, and the pain, returned.
Striking quickly, summoning unguessed reserves of power, Ctesias
lashed out with her hand. Across the room, Sailor Pallas was caught
around the throat by an invisible force and lifted up into the air.
Legs pin-wheeling, she dangled five feet in the air, clutching at her
throat.
"You dare hurt me?" rumbled Ctesias as Pallas struggled helplessly
before her. Sailor Moon tried to pull the crystal from the grip of the
mystic bubble, but Ctesias, when concentrating, could divide her
attention and power quite adequately. "You and your band of gutter
rabble have the audacity to think you can hurt me?"
Her hand turned in the air, two fingers crooked. Ctesias made a
pulling motion and the room was filled with the terrified shriek of
Sailor Pallas. Pallas' face wrinkled as her mouth extended to its
fullest and beyond. Her teeth appeared to bow out beyond her lips,
followed by something curved and white. Sailor Moon could scarcely
believe what she saw. It was too horrible to contemplate. Ctesias
seemed to be trying to pull the very skeleton of Pallas out through her
mouth.
Sailor Moon strained to reclaim control of the Pink Crystal,
desperate to do something to save Sailor Pallas. She could feel it give
some. Ctesias's grip had weakened, probably because she had so much
energy focused on Pallas. Apparently even she had limits. Sailor Moon
fought to exploit that. She had to reclaim the crystal and she had to
do it in time to save Pallas.
And all the while, it seemed she could hear Helios' voice, but it
was too faint to understand.
"I will not tolerate such temerity any longer!" Ctesias raged as
Pallas writhed in pain. "I am Ctesias, supreme of this and all worlds!
I am the one destined to know all there is to know and rule all there is
to rule! That is my will and my legacy! My will shall not be thwarted,
least of all by a band of children! Now . . .!"
Suddenly Ctesias recoiled. Her concentration broken, she let
Pallas crash to the floor. There was no outward evidence of the girl's
ordeal save for the pitiful sobbing that wracked the senshi as she
curled up into a fetal position. Ctesias bent down, her free hand
clutching at her ankle. She looked and saw the deep red gash oozing
precious blood onto the floor. Her eyes darted forward and spotted a
simple brown rodent scampering to Sailor Pallas, remnants of her own
flesh clutched in its mouth.
In that same moment, Sailor Moon felt her pain subside and the
grip of her foe weaken on her Pink Crystal. Too, she heard Helios loud
and clear again. She turned to him and they locked eyes.
"Maiden," he said firmly. "You are my love and my life. You are
also Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon does not hate. You are the guardian of
love and justice. Heed my words, Maiden. Your anger dilutes your
power. Cast it out! Your hatred stains your soul, the source of your
great ability. Cast it out! Only by forgiving her can you hope to end
this."
"I can't!" Sailor Moon replied with her eyes, a response Helios
read all too clearly. "After everything she's done? I-I can't!"
"You must," Helios mentally told her firmly, locking her eyes to
his with his inner strength. "You will. I could not love someone who
could not."
Though he meant that she possessed a well-spring of charity that
even she was unsure of, Sailor Moon interpreted his challenge in a far
different manner, as a threat to their very relationship. A chill ran
down Sailor Moon. If everything prior to this was a deadly fate, this
to her was a fate worse than death.
Frantically she thought, searching her mind until she hit upon her
love for Helios, the very love that was now threatened in her eyes. She
focused on it, on how he made her feel, on how much he meant to her and
how much he completed her. She thought of her parents, Serenity and
Endymion and, despite their endless petty squabbles, how they were a
sense of comfort and solace like no one else could be. She thought of
Hotaru, of the way the shy girl accepted her without judgment, of how
she could tell Hotaru anything and feel safe, and how much making the
girl smile made her smile.
And she asked herself what was more important - - this or anger
and revenge?
"I forgive you," Sailor Moon whispered as she hung from the
manacles on the wall. Ctesias turned to her, wide-eyed with
astonishment. The Pink Crystal began to glow more brightly.
"W-What are you saying?" she croaked out.
"You must be so lost and lonely," Sailor Moon continued. "I
didn't understand at first, but now I see. You've spent so much time
acquiring power, lusting after it, and trying to prove your
superiority that you haven't spent any time on anything else."
"What else is there?" scowled Ctesias.
"Do you have any family? Do you have any friends? Do you have
anyone you can love?"
"What do I need with that?"
"If you'd like, I'll be your friend. But please, stop lashing
out. Stop hurting other people. You won't want to if you try to see
the good in them."
Ctesias looked down at Sailor Moon as if she'd crawled out from
under a rock.
"You little fool," she sneered and with a final powerful tug
ripped the Pink Crystal away. "You don't deserve this crystal."
Bereft of the crystal, Sailor Moon collapsed back against the
wall. She was barely conscious, feeling at life's low ebb. She glanced
over at Helios in confusion through eyes hazed over with red. The
equine looked back, stoic and unworried.
"How fitting that I use your own power crystal to rid you from my
sight!" Ctesias blustered. Ctesias sundered the mystic bubble holding
the Pink Crystal and allowed it to float down into her palm. "Say
good-bye to your lover, my captive unicorn."
Raising the crystal above her head, Ctesias mentally locked onto
the energy within and commanded it to blast Sailor Moon to atoms. The
energy of the crystal reacted, but not as she expected. Instead, it
snapped at her like an angry animal. Caught off guard, Ctesias
flinched. In that moment, the inadequacy of her soul and the evil of
her ways caught up with her. Starting with the hand that held the
crystal aloft, Ctesias began to grow white as a sheet, for the crystal
was drawing the life's blood from her body, the very blood of the
immortal. Her eyes popped in alarm and she opened her mouth to bully
the crystal into obeying, but nothing came out.
She tried to command it. Nothing happened, so she tried to beg
it. She tried to fling it away. Nothing worked. Nothing seemed
capable of saving her. Finally she stopped trying when there was
nothing left of the great and terrible sorceress Ctesias but a dry,
bloodless husk. A shift in the air of the room exploded the husk into
dust.
Sailor Pallas sat up, her eyes still overflowing with tears. Me
stood by her side, staring up at her hopefully. She looked around for
Ctesias, but saw nothing. Then she saw Sailor Moon.
"Princess!" wailed Pallas. She stumbled over to the girl's side
and saw she was still collapsed against the wall. Her hands went to her
mouth and she was all set to weep anew.
"Calm yourself," Helios said, his equine form shimmering into that
of a human again. "She will be fine momentarily."
Pallas turned to see the Pink Crystal floating down to Sailor
Moon. The jewel hovered over her chest, pulsating with pink energy.
After a moment's hesitation, it sank down into her chest until it
disappeared. With that, Sailor Moon revived. She eased herself up
against the wall she was still shackled to and looked at Helios. She
seemed numbed with shock.
"She's dead?" Sailor Moon asked in a small voice.
"Yes, Maiden," Helios said, doffing the fetters that were now too
big for him. "The crystal draws its power from the soul of the
possessor. Her own emptiness ultimately consumed her. That is why your
own power dipped when your soul was clouded with anger and hatred."
"Oh, Helios, you're free!" she cried and tried to hug him, only to
be held back by her shackles. "Oh, these blasted chains!"
"Let Pallas help you, Princess," Pallas said. "Beautiful
Incantation," and she wiggled her finger at the lock. The shackles
jiggled on Sailor Moon's wrists, then opened and fell off. Sailor Moon
lurched at Helios and fell into his arms, squeezing him tight.
"I thought we were all goners!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. Pallas
looked on happily.
"You only needed faith in the way of peace, Maiden," Helios told
her. "Plus a timely intervention from the smallest of us all." And he
nodded to Me.
"Me!" squealed Pallas. "You saved us all! Oh, thank you so
much!"
"You have shown me the path, Goddess Pallas," the rodent replied.
"I could do nothing else."
"Is she talking to that mouse?" Sailor Moon whispered to Helios.
"Of course, Maiden," teased Helios. "Can you not hear him speak
to her?"
Sailor Moon looked away in chagrin and her vision caught sight of
Sailor Saturn, frozen in stone. She grimaced and was about to summon
her Crescent Wand. Suddenly they heard a wail from Pallas at the far
end of the room. She raced over and instantly recoiled.
"Juno!" sobbed Pallas, her hands flying to her mouth. "Princess,
please help her!"
"Wow, those are some nasty burns," mumbled Ceres, focusing for the
first time on them as she pulled herself up. "We have to do something!"
"I will," Sailor Moon said. She retrieved the Crescent Moon Wand,
then took a deep breath. "Moon Healing Escalation."
Pink dust came from the wand as she waved it over Sailor Juno. As
the particles touched the raw skin, the wounds began to close. With
more particles, the wounds began to recede until there were no blemishes
on Juno's skin at all. Juno let out a very contented sigh. It almost
sounded like "refresh". Her eyes opened and she sat up. It took only
one glance at Sailor Moon to realize what had happened.
"Thank you," Juno said earnestly and with a hint of embarrassment.
"Hey, you got them trying to save me. I should thank you.
Besides, us senshi got to stick together," grinned Sailor Moon. Then
she reeled a little, with Helios supporting her despite his balancing on
a single healthy leg. "Whoa, that takes a little out of a person."
"Perhaps then, you should wait a bit before tending to Sailor
Saturn," suggested Helios.
"No," Sailor Moon said sharply and pulled away. She marched over
to the stone statue that had once been her best friend. Biting her lip,
she caressed the statue's cheek. Then she took a steadying breath and
raised the Crescent Wand. "Moon Healing Escalation!"
Pink particles showered the statue. Nothing changed at first.
Doggedly Sailor Moon kept it up, determined not to falter. After
several tense moments color began to slowly infest the dull gray of the
stone. Life funneled back into the cold, lifeless statue, delivered by
the pink particles from the wand. Though it took far longer than Sailor
Moon would have liked, Sailor Saturn slowly returned to her true self.
When it was finished, she sank to her knees, propped up by her glaive.
"Ohhh," Saturn groaned. "I could see and hear everything that was
happening! Oh, it was so . . .!" Sailor Moon sank to her knees next to
Saturn. "Sailor Moon!"
In an instant, Helios was by her side, cradling her against his
scarred chest. Saturn looked to him with concern.
"She has pushed herself to her limits," Helios said. "She must
rest or she risks death." He massaged her forehead with loving care.
"Rest, my Maiden. You have done more than your share." Noticing that
Saturn was staring at him, Helios looked at her and smiled. "You are
her friend, Hotaru." Saturn nodded. "She talks about you quite
frequently. I am Helios."
"She talks about you a lot, too," smiled Saturn. "I can see why."
"Evionne," mumbled Sailor Moon. "Still have to - - try to save
. . ."
"No, my Maiden," Helios said softly, cradling her head to his
chest. "Poor Evionne is beyond even your power now. To even attempt to
resurrect her would claim your life without bringing her back whole."
"But I have to try," Sailor Moon whimpered weakly.
"No, Maiden. As loathe as I am to lose Evionne, I will not lose
you both."
"It's not fair," Sailor Moon mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.
"You two up to a search?" Juno asked Ceres and Pallas. "We've
still got to find Vesta. She may need our help."
"Or she may not," panted Sailor Vesta. She leaned against the
door. Her legs were wobbly, she carried multiple wounds and was clearly
worse for wear.
"Vesta!" gasped Ceres, running to support the girl. "How'd you
get away from that dragon?"
"How else? I fought dirty," Vesta said. She tried and failed to
pull away from Ceres, then surrendered and leaned on the girl. She shot
Juno a wink. "That dragon is going to be singing soprano for a while,
too. Poor stiff never knew what hit him. Is the Princess OK?"
"Yeah," smiled Juno. "Mission accomplished. One of these days
I'm going to learn to stop worrying about you."
"I was never worried," huffed Ceres. "You're too nasty to die."
"Ceres!" Pallas barked. "You better stop that! The Queen says
your nose is gonna grow if you lie!"
"Oh, be quiet!" Ceres shot back. Vesta chuckled hoarsely.
Concluded in Chapter 11
Chapter 10: "Unity in the Face of Evil"
By Bill K.
The pain seared through her. Sailor Moon struggled to hold on, to
keep from blacking out. She knew that if she lost consciousness and
allowed Ctesias to rip the Pink Crystal from her, Helios and everyone
else were lost.
"This is your unique crystal," she recalled Diana telling her the
day she returned from the twentieth century and showed her the Crescent
Moon Wand. "The crystal in your wand is a manifestation of the more
powerful crystal that has always resided in you. It is the source of
your power, the thing that feeds you and feeds from you."
"But I always thought I was going to inherit the Silver Crystal,
just like Mama," she remembered asking the supple gray cat. And she
remembered the proud smile Diana gave her.
"If the time comes, you shall, My Lady," Diana told her. "But you
possess even more than your mother or father in the way of potential,
for you are the sum of them both. Your Pink Crystal is the potential
sum of the Silver Crystal of Queen Serenity and the Golden Crystal of
King Endymion."
"You mean I could be more powerful than Mama?" she recalled
asking, then gulping to clear a suddenly constricted throat. "More
powerful than Pop?"
"More powerful than both," smiled Diana. "But that, of course,
depends upon you."
"What do I have to do?"
"Your very best, My Lady," the cat replied and even now Usa
thought she wasn't saying everything she knew.
So it was paramount that she keep hold of it. The Pink Crystal
was the only thing that could stop Ctesias. As she struggled to hold
on, Sailor Moon managed to pry an eye open. She expected to see
Ctesias, grim with fury or cold and mocking, gleeful over the misery she
was inflicting upon a simple teenage girl who wanted to be with her love
and her friends. Ctesias was grim with fury, all right, but there was
more. She could see pain in the woman's face, as if her efforts to
snatch the crystal were hurting her as much as it hurt Sailor Moon. It
was a fleeting moment's satisfaction gained.
"You spiteful . . ." Sailor Moon began, then had the thought cut
short by another searing jab of pain that cut through her chest. It
ripped a loud groan of agony from her and now it was Ctesias's turn to
feel satisfaction.
"Maiden!" she heard Helios call out to her with his mind. "You
must be calm! You must be at peace!"
The words barely had time to sink in before a new player entered
the fray. Lunging suddenly into her line of sight was Sailor Juno. She
was perched on the back of the sorceress, one arm wrapped around the
woman's throat and the other snapped across her forehead. There was no
boast from Juno's mouth. There was no demand to retreat or surrender.
There was only single-minded determination, focused on the thought of
twisting Ctesias's head until her neck snapped. Sailor Moon couldn't
recall ever seeing Juno that angry.
Not that it mattered. Grinding her teeth with rage, Ctesias began
to take on a red-hot glow. Though clearly burning, Juno hung on and
continued to apply pressure. Undaunted, Ctesias increased her intensity
until even Sailor Moon could feel Juno's flesh burn. Juno hung on until
she no longer had the strength, then fell away from the sorceress. She
lay on the floor, ugly burns on her chest and arms and the white on her
fuku horribly scorched. Instantly Sailor Ceres was by her side.
"Doesn't it matter how much pain and suffering you cause?" howled
Ceres. "Isn't there anyone or anything more important than you and your
goals?"
In response, Ctesias waved her hand dismissively at Ceres and
Juno. A force akin to a speeding car struck them and drove them into
the far wall. Ceres collapsed onto the still unconscious Juno and went
silent herself.
"No!" grunted Sailor Moon through clenched teeth. Her rage began
to well up again.
"That is not the way," Helios pleaded with her. "Clear your mind
of anger and hatred."
"Give me the crystal, little Princess!" demanded Ctesias. "I can
do to you what I did to your companions! You can't stand up against my
power!"
Sailor Moon only clenched her jaw harder. Every word out of
Ctesias's mouth now was like sandpaper on her nerves. She wanted oh so
desperately to cram every utterance and every unkind deed down this
woman's throat and watch her choke on it. But it seemed to be a losing
battle. Every moment the struggle lasted seemed to weaken her and
strengthen Ctesias. The pain was unendurable. It even seemed to drown
out the thoughts Helios kept trying to project into her mind.
"You will fall before me, little girl," Ctesias said, her eyes
blazing with rage and lust for power. "And when you do, I have so many,
many exquisite tortures to subject you to! You will know pain and
suffering the like you have never experienced before!" She gazed deeply
into Sailor Moon's eyes and the girl shuddered. "And while you linger
between agonies, I will torture your companions as well! You will hear
their screams and their pleas for mercy until you will beg your creator
to strike you deaf!"
Sailor Moon stared up at her and knew she meant every word of it.
It only made her desperation to succeed even greater, but it only seemed
to weaken her even more. Ctesias saw this and licked her lips.
"I find your fear quite tasty, little Princess," Ctesias sneered
in contempt. "The doubt in your heart is a pleasant appetizer as well!
How much longer can you hold out?"
Ctesias tugged on the spell holding the crystal and drew another
cry from Sailor Moon. The agony tore through Sailor Moon. Tears stung
her eyes. Breath came harder and harder to her. She clung to the Pink
Crystal with everything she had. If only the searing pain would stop.
She couldn't take anymore.
"Beautiful Incantation!" came the desperate plea, ringing through
the room.
Sailor Moon peered up through eyes half closed. From every side
Ctesias was being pummeled by invisible fists. Every blow she took
seemed to lessen the pain Sailor Moon felt. The sorceress seemed unable
to fight back, unable to direct a counterattack. The pummeling
continued and some small sense of hope began to grow within Sailor Moon
that Pallas could succeed where each of them had failed. Then she saw
Ctesias begin to gather herself and the fear, and the pain, returned.
Striking quickly, summoning unguessed reserves of power, Ctesias
lashed out with her hand. Across the room, Sailor Pallas was caught
around the throat by an invisible force and lifted up into the air.
Legs pin-wheeling, she dangled five feet in the air, clutching at her
throat.
"You dare hurt me?" rumbled Ctesias as Pallas struggled helplessly
before her. Sailor Moon tried to pull the crystal from the grip of the
mystic bubble, but Ctesias, when concentrating, could divide her
attention and power quite adequately. "You and your band of gutter
rabble have the audacity to think you can hurt me?"
Her hand turned in the air, two fingers crooked. Ctesias made a
pulling motion and the room was filled with the terrified shriek of
Sailor Pallas. Pallas' face wrinkled as her mouth extended to its
fullest and beyond. Her teeth appeared to bow out beyond her lips,
followed by something curved and white. Sailor Moon could scarcely
believe what she saw. It was too horrible to contemplate. Ctesias
seemed to be trying to pull the very skeleton of Pallas out through her
mouth.
Sailor Moon strained to reclaim control of the Pink Crystal,
desperate to do something to save Sailor Pallas. She could feel it give
some. Ctesias's grip had weakened, probably because she had so much
energy focused on Pallas. Apparently even she had limits. Sailor Moon
fought to exploit that. She had to reclaim the crystal and she had to
do it in time to save Pallas.
And all the while, it seemed she could hear Helios' voice, but it
was too faint to understand.
"I will not tolerate such temerity any longer!" Ctesias raged as
Pallas writhed in pain. "I am Ctesias, supreme of this and all worlds!
I am the one destined to know all there is to know and rule all there is
to rule! That is my will and my legacy! My will shall not be thwarted,
least of all by a band of children! Now . . .!"
Suddenly Ctesias recoiled. Her concentration broken, she let
Pallas crash to the floor. There was no outward evidence of the girl's
ordeal save for the pitiful sobbing that wracked the senshi as she
curled up into a fetal position. Ctesias bent down, her free hand
clutching at her ankle. She looked and saw the deep red gash oozing
precious blood onto the floor. Her eyes darted forward and spotted a
simple brown rodent scampering to Sailor Pallas, remnants of her own
flesh clutched in its mouth.
In that same moment, Sailor Moon felt her pain subside and the
grip of her foe weaken on her Pink Crystal. Too, she heard Helios loud
and clear again. She turned to him and they locked eyes.
"Maiden," he said firmly. "You are my love and my life. You are
also Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon does not hate. You are the guardian of
love and justice. Heed my words, Maiden. Your anger dilutes your
power. Cast it out! Your hatred stains your soul, the source of your
great ability. Cast it out! Only by forgiving her can you hope to end
this."
"I can't!" Sailor Moon replied with her eyes, a response Helios
read all too clearly. "After everything she's done? I-I can't!"
"You must," Helios mentally told her firmly, locking her eyes to
his with his inner strength. "You will. I could not love someone who
could not."
Though he meant that she possessed a well-spring of charity that
even she was unsure of, Sailor Moon interpreted his challenge in a far
different manner, as a threat to their very relationship. A chill ran
down Sailor Moon. If everything prior to this was a deadly fate, this
to her was a fate worse than death.
Frantically she thought, searching her mind until she hit upon her
love for Helios, the very love that was now threatened in her eyes. She
focused on it, on how he made her feel, on how much he meant to her and
how much he completed her. She thought of her parents, Serenity and
Endymion and, despite their endless petty squabbles, how they were a
sense of comfort and solace like no one else could be. She thought of
Hotaru, of the way the shy girl accepted her without judgment, of how
she could tell Hotaru anything and feel safe, and how much making the
girl smile made her smile.
And she asked herself what was more important - - this or anger
and revenge?
"I forgive you," Sailor Moon whispered as she hung from the
manacles on the wall. Ctesias turned to her, wide-eyed with
astonishment. The Pink Crystal began to glow more brightly.
"W-What are you saying?" she croaked out.
"You must be so lost and lonely," Sailor Moon continued. "I
didn't understand at first, but now I see. You've spent so much time
acquiring power, lusting after it, and trying to prove your
superiority that you haven't spent any time on anything else."
"What else is there?" scowled Ctesias.
"Do you have any family? Do you have any friends? Do you have
anyone you can love?"
"What do I need with that?"
"If you'd like, I'll be your friend. But please, stop lashing
out. Stop hurting other people. You won't want to if you try to see
the good in them."
Ctesias looked down at Sailor Moon as if she'd crawled out from
under a rock.
"You little fool," she sneered and with a final powerful tug
ripped the Pink Crystal away. "You don't deserve this crystal."
Bereft of the crystal, Sailor Moon collapsed back against the
wall. She was barely conscious, feeling at life's low ebb. She glanced
over at Helios in confusion through eyes hazed over with red. The
equine looked back, stoic and unworried.
"How fitting that I use your own power crystal to rid you from my
sight!" Ctesias blustered. Ctesias sundered the mystic bubble holding
the Pink Crystal and allowed it to float down into her palm. "Say
good-bye to your lover, my captive unicorn."
Raising the crystal above her head, Ctesias mentally locked onto
the energy within and commanded it to blast Sailor Moon to atoms. The
energy of the crystal reacted, but not as she expected. Instead, it
snapped at her like an angry animal. Caught off guard, Ctesias
flinched. In that moment, the inadequacy of her soul and the evil of
her ways caught up with her. Starting with the hand that held the
crystal aloft, Ctesias began to grow white as a sheet, for the crystal
was drawing the life's blood from her body, the very blood of the
immortal. Her eyes popped in alarm and she opened her mouth to bully
the crystal into obeying, but nothing came out.
She tried to command it. Nothing happened, so she tried to beg
it. She tried to fling it away. Nothing worked. Nothing seemed
capable of saving her. Finally she stopped trying when there was
nothing left of the great and terrible sorceress Ctesias but a dry,
bloodless husk. A shift in the air of the room exploded the husk into
dust.
Sailor Pallas sat up, her eyes still overflowing with tears. Me
stood by her side, staring up at her hopefully. She looked around for
Ctesias, but saw nothing. Then she saw Sailor Moon.
"Princess!" wailed Pallas. She stumbled over to the girl's side
and saw she was still collapsed against the wall. Her hands went to her
mouth and she was all set to weep anew.
"Calm yourself," Helios said, his equine form shimmering into that
of a human again. "She will be fine momentarily."
Pallas turned to see the Pink Crystal floating down to Sailor
Moon. The jewel hovered over her chest, pulsating with pink energy.
After a moment's hesitation, it sank down into her chest until it
disappeared. With that, Sailor Moon revived. She eased herself up
against the wall she was still shackled to and looked at Helios. She
seemed numbed with shock.
"She's dead?" Sailor Moon asked in a small voice.
"Yes, Maiden," Helios said, doffing the fetters that were now too
big for him. "The crystal draws its power from the soul of the
possessor. Her own emptiness ultimately consumed her. That is why your
own power dipped when your soul was clouded with anger and hatred."
"Oh, Helios, you're free!" she cried and tried to hug him, only to
be held back by her shackles. "Oh, these blasted chains!"
"Let Pallas help you, Princess," Pallas said. "Beautiful
Incantation," and she wiggled her finger at the lock. The shackles
jiggled on Sailor Moon's wrists, then opened and fell off. Sailor Moon
lurched at Helios and fell into his arms, squeezing him tight.
"I thought we were all goners!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. Pallas
looked on happily.
"You only needed faith in the way of peace, Maiden," Helios told
her. "Plus a timely intervention from the smallest of us all." And he
nodded to Me.
"Me!" squealed Pallas. "You saved us all! Oh, thank you so
much!"
"You have shown me the path, Goddess Pallas," the rodent replied.
"I could do nothing else."
"Is she talking to that mouse?" Sailor Moon whispered to Helios.
"Of course, Maiden," teased Helios. "Can you not hear him speak
to her?"
Sailor Moon looked away in chagrin and her vision caught sight of
Sailor Saturn, frozen in stone. She grimaced and was about to summon
her Crescent Wand. Suddenly they heard a wail from Pallas at the far
end of the room. She raced over and instantly recoiled.
"Juno!" sobbed Pallas, her hands flying to her mouth. "Princess,
please help her!"
"Wow, those are some nasty burns," mumbled Ceres, focusing for the
first time on them as she pulled herself up. "We have to do something!"
"I will," Sailor Moon said. She retrieved the Crescent Moon Wand,
then took a deep breath. "Moon Healing Escalation."
Pink dust came from the wand as she waved it over Sailor Juno. As
the particles touched the raw skin, the wounds began to close. With
more particles, the wounds began to recede until there were no blemishes
on Juno's skin at all. Juno let out a very contented sigh. It almost
sounded like "refresh". Her eyes opened and she sat up. It took only
one glance at Sailor Moon to realize what had happened.
"Thank you," Juno said earnestly and with a hint of embarrassment.
"Hey, you got them trying to save me. I should thank you.
Besides, us senshi got to stick together," grinned Sailor Moon. Then
she reeled a little, with Helios supporting her despite his balancing on
a single healthy leg. "Whoa, that takes a little out of a person."
"Perhaps then, you should wait a bit before tending to Sailor
Saturn," suggested Helios.
"No," Sailor Moon said sharply and pulled away. She marched over
to the stone statue that had once been her best friend. Biting her lip,
she caressed the statue's cheek. Then she took a steadying breath and
raised the Crescent Wand. "Moon Healing Escalation!"
Pink particles showered the statue. Nothing changed at first.
Doggedly Sailor Moon kept it up, determined not to falter. After
several tense moments color began to slowly infest the dull gray of the
stone. Life funneled back into the cold, lifeless statue, delivered by
the pink particles from the wand. Though it took far longer than Sailor
Moon would have liked, Sailor Saturn slowly returned to her true self.
When it was finished, she sank to her knees, propped up by her glaive.
"Ohhh," Saturn groaned. "I could see and hear everything that was
happening! Oh, it was so . . .!" Sailor Moon sank to her knees next to
Saturn. "Sailor Moon!"
In an instant, Helios was by her side, cradling her against his
scarred chest. Saturn looked to him with concern.
"She has pushed herself to her limits," Helios said. "She must
rest or she risks death." He massaged her forehead with loving care.
"Rest, my Maiden. You have done more than your share." Noticing that
Saturn was staring at him, Helios looked at her and smiled. "You are
her friend, Hotaru." Saturn nodded. "She talks about you quite
frequently. I am Helios."
"She talks about you a lot, too," smiled Saturn. "I can see why."
"Evionne," mumbled Sailor Moon. "Still have to - - try to save
. . ."
"No, my Maiden," Helios said softly, cradling her head to his
chest. "Poor Evionne is beyond even your power now. To even attempt to
resurrect her would claim your life without bringing her back whole."
"But I have to try," Sailor Moon whimpered weakly.
"No, Maiden. As loathe as I am to lose Evionne, I will not lose
you both."
"It's not fair," Sailor Moon mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.
"You two up to a search?" Juno asked Ceres and Pallas. "We've
still got to find Vesta. She may need our help."
"Or she may not," panted Sailor Vesta. She leaned against the
door. Her legs were wobbly, she carried multiple wounds and was clearly
worse for wear.
"Vesta!" gasped Ceres, running to support the girl. "How'd you
get away from that dragon?"
"How else? I fought dirty," Vesta said. She tried and failed to
pull away from Ceres, then surrendered and leaned on the girl. She shot
Juno a wink. "That dragon is going to be singing soprano for a while,
too. Poor stiff never knew what hit him. Is the Princess OK?"
"Yeah," smiled Juno. "Mission accomplished. One of these days
I'm going to learn to stop worrying about you."
"I was never worried," huffed Ceres. "You're too nasty to die."
"Ceres!" Pallas barked. "You better stop that! The Queen says
your nose is gonna grow if you lie!"
"Oh, be quiet!" Ceres shot back. Vesta chuckled hoarsely.
Concluded in Chapter 11