I do not own Sailor Moon. CastellaStar owns any characters that Naoko
Takeuchi doesn't.
Chapter 15.
Serenity held her face in her hands, elbows leaning against the table that sat in front of her. Her entire body was tense, and her breathing was heavy, and sweat trickled down her face. Things had gone wrong..terribly wrong. The ticking bomb that Sailor Mars had mentioned had gone off, but it seemed that it was one that would go off many more times. A sailor scout as powerful as the soldier of destruction, if not more-so, was residing in their castle at that very moment.
"Mother."
Interrupted from her thoughts, Serenity looked up. In front of her, the crown princess, her daughter Chibi-usa stood, creases of worry all over her face. Beside her stood Hotaru..Sailor Saturn..the soldier of destruction, herself. Chibi-usa and Hotaru watched as Serenity looked up at both of them, and then as her crystal blue eyes went out of focus once again. Chibi- usa lay a bandaged hand on the table that her mother leaned against. The cuts she had received were minor compared to what she should have gotten out of what had happened earlier.
"Mother," repeated Chibi-usa.
Serenity blinked, surprised, and her eyes came back into focus. The queen's face did not..could not..hide any expressions what-so-ever. Sighing, Serenity forced herself to stand up. She walked around the table and walked over to Chibi-usa so that she was standing right up next to her. Holding her daughter's face in her hands, Serenity gently traced the cuts that Chibi-usa had received with her fingers.
"You should not be so reckless, my daughter," murmured Serenity.
"Serenity!" said Hotaru in a loud, commanding voice. "I apologize for not being formal, but this is no time to worry over a few cuts. We are getting ready to fight in a war, and now it seems that we may have trouble on our side. You can not ignore it. I'm sorry, my queen, but you just can not ignore it."
Serenity's eyes hardened, and she nodded sharply, allowing her hand to drop away from her daughter's face. Her normally soft voice was now stronger.more serious.as she walked over to one of the many windows in the room. "So.our soldier of dreams.is not just what she seems."
"None of us are, my queen."
Serenity whirled around, surprised by the new voice. Ariya was standing by the door; she had slipped in quietly, without anyone noticing. "Excuse me for interrupting, my Queen, but perhaps it is best for me to be here at a time like this."
"Yes, perhaps it is," agreed Serenity, her eyes scanning Ariya from head to toe in a suspicious manner. "You do understand if I can not hold full trust in you anymore."
"Of course. You must also understand that we could not hold full trust in you."
Serenity nodded slowly. She turned towards the window once more, before saying, "All of the other senshi will know about this before the battle begins. First though, I want to know what I am about to explain to them. I have only heard from Hotaru and my daughter. Now I want to hear from you."
Ariya leaned back against one of the walls opposite from where Serenity stood. "Cambertin and I are not your ordinary sailor senshi, as you now know."
Serenity nodded in affirmation, not looking away from the window. Continuing, Ariya explained their story. "I can not explain how or why we are different, but it is the way we were born. Cambertin was given an ability as strong as Sailor Saturn. I can not say if it is stronger, for I have not seen everything to her, even though I have been traveling with her for a long time. She most certainly has the potential though. At one point in time, a demon tried to possess Cambertin, but was unable to..it was the same one that we are preparing to battle against now. Rather than being possessed, Cambertin somehow absorbed this demon and crushed it inside her own body. The demon managed to escape, and it even left Cambertin a small present. It attempted to leave a small bead of evil in her that would grow and grow until it ate her up inside, but with her ability, it changed into something much different.much more useful."
Serenity looked over to Ariya, "And I assume that is what my daughter saw not too long ago."
"That was only a small part of it," replied Ariya, smirking slightly. "When Cambertin transforms, she becomes the senshi, Sailor Pegasus. She is the soldier of dreams. If Cambertin is attacked.or if she submits to it by her own will.Cambertin will transform again. A dream has two parts to it; one is still only called a dream.the other is called a nightmare. If she submits to the darkness inside of her completely.or if she is attacked.she transforms again. She is still Sailor Pegasus, but she is no longer the soldier of dreams."
"She is the soldier of nightmares," finished Serenity, understanding what Ariya was trying to say.
"Yes," affirmed Ariya hesitantly, "but.that is not the end of it."
"What do you mean?" demanded Serenity, facing Ariya completely.
Breathing deeply, the mysterious senshi continued, "What you saw.or rather what Lady Serenity saw.was Cambertin merely submitting to this darkness.without transformation. All Lady Serenity saw was the untransformed form.the form of a nightmare taken shape."
"Are you saying that Cambertin becomes the nightmare?!" exclaimed Serenity, her eyes widening slightly.
"In a sense, yes," replied Ariya, "But that is not the entire form. There is a third form.her final one.she has no control over this form what-so- ever. She becomes the soldier of pain."
"Pain?" repeated Serenity, baffled. "What on earth does pain have to do with dreams and nightmares?"
Ariya's eyes had been closed as she explained, but now they opened to meet Serenity's crystal blue ones. Her voice became cold.harsh.unforgiving.as she continued, "You know nothing about Cambertin. Pain is what eats at Cambertin every day.every moment.of her life! Can you not see that in her eyes, Queen?! She has felt pain since she was born, and so to find comfort, she lost herself in her own dreams. Of course, she can not escape the pain completely even there.and if she can not get far enough away from it, it terrorizes her with nightmares!!"
"What pain are you talking about?" asked Serenity, taken aback by the tone of Ariya's voice. "What would cause a thing like this?"
"Cambertin is dying," replied Ariya. Her voice had become a mere noise, but her face seemed to say everything. There was a very uncomfortable silence in the room, and the wind rattling the windows could be heard.
Slowly, Queen Serenity repeated what Ariya had just said. "Cambertin is..dying?"
"Yeah.I am," came a husky voice which cracked slightly.
Serenity watched as Cambertin opened the door to the room the rest of the way. She looked as though she was ready to cry, but she didn't. She merely stared at Cambertin, wrapped in bandages, as though she was seeing something new. Cambertin slowly walked over to a chair, limping slightly, and sat down in it. Making herself comfortable, she rested her chin on her elbow and glanced from Ariya to Serenity to Hotaru and Chibi-usa.
"What?" snorted Cambertin, grinning slightly. "It's no big deal. Everyone dies eventually."
"But.," started Chibi-usa, her eyes wide with surprise.
"But what?" laughed Cambertin. "Like I said, it's no big deal. I still have awhile to live as long as I don't mess up too much."
"Mess up? What do you mean mess up?" asked Serenity.
"Well.it's kind of hard to explain," started Cambertin. "We'll just say that every time I use a certain ability my life gets drained a little bit."
"And what ability would that be?"
"The one.the one you used for me," interrupted Hotaru. "It's that one, isn't it?"
"One of the many," replied Cambertin, smiling. "Don't worry about it. That one didn't take up much. Just a day or so."
"A day to live!" exclaimed Hotaru, her fists clenched. "Why would you do that? I mean.you.you don't even know me!"
Cambertin stood up and walked over to Hotaru until she was standing directly in front of the soldier of destruction. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she said quietly, "You.you of all people.should know the answer to that one.you're one of the few who should be able to understand."
Hotaru's violet eyes stared up at Cambertin for a moment, and slowly a familiar, dark iciness filled them. "Yes.you're right," she whispered. "Of course. It is just like everything else."
Serenity, Chibi-usa, and Ariya stared, not saying a word. Hotaru turned and smiled at Chibi-usa, and Cambertin began to walk towards the door. She started to leave, but stopped for a moment. Looking over at Serenity, her eyes narrowed a bit as she said, "It's not nice to talk about people behind their backs, ya know." Then her eyes widened and a grin grew on her face. "Besides, I'm hungry. One of the best treatments for anything is a nice, hot meal." Winking, she continued on her way.
Serenity blinked, as did everyone else. The silence returned, but it was more of a surprised silence than anything else. They all looked at each other and then towards the way that Cambertin had left. Chibi-usa was the first to speak.
"Well, as she said.a hot meal sounds good to me!" she exclaimed, smiling slightly. Grabbing Hotaru's arm, she dragged her out the door, soon followed by Serenity and Ariya.
Serenity and Chibi-usa walked into the kitchens to give out orders, and Hotaru tagged along. Ariya continued on to the dining room, only to find Cambertin waiting by the door, leaning against the wall.
"I figured you'd be the first," stated Cambertin, grinning.
Ariya's eyes were filled with sincerity, just as her voice was, "How much did you really give up, Cambertin? How much did you REALLY give up?"
Cambertin merely smiled.but the smile did not reach her eyes. Ariya watched Cambertin walk into the dining room, and tears slowly filled her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away before anyone else could see. She glanced around, seeing Serenity and the others walking towards her, waved, and went on into the room.
Chapter 15.
Serenity held her face in her hands, elbows leaning against the table that sat in front of her. Her entire body was tense, and her breathing was heavy, and sweat trickled down her face. Things had gone wrong..terribly wrong. The ticking bomb that Sailor Mars had mentioned had gone off, but it seemed that it was one that would go off many more times. A sailor scout as powerful as the soldier of destruction, if not more-so, was residing in their castle at that very moment.
"Mother."
Interrupted from her thoughts, Serenity looked up. In front of her, the crown princess, her daughter Chibi-usa stood, creases of worry all over her face. Beside her stood Hotaru..Sailor Saturn..the soldier of destruction, herself. Chibi-usa and Hotaru watched as Serenity looked up at both of them, and then as her crystal blue eyes went out of focus once again. Chibi- usa lay a bandaged hand on the table that her mother leaned against. The cuts she had received were minor compared to what she should have gotten out of what had happened earlier.
"Mother," repeated Chibi-usa.
Serenity blinked, surprised, and her eyes came back into focus. The queen's face did not..could not..hide any expressions what-so-ever. Sighing, Serenity forced herself to stand up. She walked around the table and walked over to Chibi-usa so that she was standing right up next to her. Holding her daughter's face in her hands, Serenity gently traced the cuts that Chibi-usa had received with her fingers.
"You should not be so reckless, my daughter," murmured Serenity.
"Serenity!" said Hotaru in a loud, commanding voice. "I apologize for not being formal, but this is no time to worry over a few cuts. We are getting ready to fight in a war, and now it seems that we may have trouble on our side. You can not ignore it. I'm sorry, my queen, but you just can not ignore it."
Serenity's eyes hardened, and she nodded sharply, allowing her hand to drop away from her daughter's face. Her normally soft voice was now stronger.more serious.as she walked over to one of the many windows in the room. "So.our soldier of dreams.is not just what she seems."
"None of us are, my queen."
Serenity whirled around, surprised by the new voice. Ariya was standing by the door; she had slipped in quietly, without anyone noticing. "Excuse me for interrupting, my Queen, but perhaps it is best for me to be here at a time like this."
"Yes, perhaps it is," agreed Serenity, her eyes scanning Ariya from head to toe in a suspicious manner. "You do understand if I can not hold full trust in you anymore."
"Of course. You must also understand that we could not hold full trust in you."
Serenity nodded slowly. She turned towards the window once more, before saying, "All of the other senshi will know about this before the battle begins. First though, I want to know what I am about to explain to them. I have only heard from Hotaru and my daughter. Now I want to hear from you."
Ariya leaned back against one of the walls opposite from where Serenity stood. "Cambertin and I are not your ordinary sailor senshi, as you now know."
Serenity nodded in affirmation, not looking away from the window. Continuing, Ariya explained their story. "I can not explain how or why we are different, but it is the way we were born. Cambertin was given an ability as strong as Sailor Saturn. I can not say if it is stronger, for I have not seen everything to her, even though I have been traveling with her for a long time. She most certainly has the potential though. At one point in time, a demon tried to possess Cambertin, but was unable to..it was the same one that we are preparing to battle against now. Rather than being possessed, Cambertin somehow absorbed this demon and crushed it inside her own body. The demon managed to escape, and it even left Cambertin a small present. It attempted to leave a small bead of evil in her that would grow and grow until it ate her up inside, but with her ability, it changed into something much different.much more useful."
Serenity looked over to Ariya, "And I assume that is what my daughter saw not too long ago."
"That was only a small part of it," replied Ariya, smirking slightly. "When Cambertin transforms, she becomes the senshi, Sailor Pegasus. She is the soldier of dreams. If Cambertin is attacked.or if she submits to it by her own will.Cambertin will transform again. A dream has two parts to it; one is still only called a dream.the other is called a nightmare. If she submits to the darkness inside of her completely.or if she is attacked.she transforms again. She is still Sailor Pegasus, but she is no longer the soldier of dreams."
"She is the soldier of nightmares," finished Serenity, understanding what Ariya was trying to say.
"Yes," affirmed Ariya hesitantly, "but.that is not the end of it."
"What do you mean?" demanded Serenity, facing Ariya completely.
Breathing deeply, the mysterious senshi continued, "What you saw.or rather what Lady Serenity saw.was Cambertin merely submitting to this darkness.without transformation. All Lady Serenity saw was the untransformed form.the form of a nightmare taken shape."
"Are you saying that Cambertin becomes the nightmare?!" exclaimed Serenity, her eyes widening slightly.
"In a sense, yes," replied Ariya, "But that is not the entire form. There is a third form.her final one.she has no control over this form what-so- ever. She becomes the soldier of pain."
"Pain?" repeated Serenity, baffled. "What on earth does pain have to do with dreams and nightmares?"
Ariya's eyes had been closed as she explained, but now they opened to meet Serenity's crystal blue ones. Her voice became cold.harsh.unforgiving.as she continued, "You know nothing about Cambertin. Pain is what eats at Cambertin every day.every moment.of her life! Can you not see that in her eyes, Queen?! She has felt pain since she was born, and so to find comfort, she lost herself in her own dreams. Of course, she can not escape the pain completely even there.and if she can not get far enough away from it, it terrorizes her with nightmares!!"
"What pain are you talking about?" asked Serenity, taken aback by the tone of Ariya's voice. "What would cause a thing like this?"
"Cambertin is dying," replied Ariya. Her voice had become a mere noise, but her face seemed to say everything. There was a very uncomfortable silence in the room, and the wind rattling the windows could be heard.
Slowly, Queen Serenity repeated what Ariya had just said. "Cambertin is..dying?"
"Yeah.I am," came a husky voice which cracked slightly.
Serenity watched as Cambertin opened the door to the room the rest of the way. She looked as though she was ready to cry, but she didn't. She merely stared at Cambertin, wrapped in bandages, as though she was seeing something new. Cambertin slowly walked over to a chair, limping slightly, and sat down in it. Making herself comfortable, she rested her chin on her elbow and glanced from Ariya to Serenity to Hotaru and Chibi-usa.
"What?" snorted Cambertin, grinning slightly. "It's no big deal. Everyone dies eventually."
"But.," started Chibi-usa, her eyes wide with surprise.
"But what?" laughed Cambertin. "Like I said, it's no big deal. I still have awhile to live as long as I don't mess up too much."
"Mess up? What do you mean mess up?" asked Serenity.
"Well.it's kind of hard to explain," started Cambertin. "We'll just say that every time I use a certain ability my life gets drained a little bit."
"And what ability would that be?"
"The one.the one you used for me," interrupted Hotaru. "It's that one, isn't it?"
"One of the many," replied Cambertin, smiling. "Don't worry about it. That one didn't take up much. Just a day or so."
"A day to live!" exclaimed Hotaru, her fists clenched. "Why would you do that? I mean.you.you don't even know me!"
Cambertin stood up and walked over to Hotaru until she was standing directly in front of the soldier of destruction. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she said quietly, "You.you of all people.should know the answer to that one.you're one of the few who should be able to understand."
Hotaru's violet eyes stared up at Cambertin for a moment, and slowly a familiar, dark iciness filled them. "Yes.you're right," she whispered. "Of course. It is just like everything else."
Serenity, Chibi-usa, and Ariya stared, not saying a word. Hotaru turned and smiled at Chibi-usa, and Cambertin began to walk towards the door. She started to leave, but stopped for a moment. Looking over at Serenity, her eyes narrowed a bit as she said, "It's not nice to talk about people behind their backs, ya know." Then her eyes widened and a grin grew on her face. "Besides, I'm hungry. One of the best treatments for anything is a nice, hot meal." Winking, she continued on her way.
Serenity blinked, as did everyone else. The silence returned, but it was more of a surprised silence than anything else. They all looked at each other and then towards the way that Cambertin had left. Chibi-usa was the first to speak.
"Well, as she said.a hot meal sounds good to me!" she exclaimed, smiling slightly. Grabbing Hotaru's arm, she dragged her out the door, soon followed by Serenity and Ariya.
Serenity and Chibi-usa walked into the kitchens to give out orders, and Hotaru tagged along. Ariya continued on to the dining room, only to find Cambertin waiting by the door, leaning against the wall.
"I figured you'd be the first," stated Cambertin, grinning.
Ariya's eyes were filled with sincerity, just as her voice was, "How much did you really give up, Cambertin? How much did you REALLY give up?"
Cambertin merely smiled.but the smile did not reach her eyes. Ariya watched Cambertin walk into the dining room, and tears slowly filled her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away before anyone else could see. She glanced around, seeing Serenity and the others walking towards her, waved, and went on into the room.
