Act III - Siege

"I'm your worst nightmare! Get out of my princess's body right now, demon!" Andrea screamed, dark hair flying about her wild azure eyes. Gripping an antique sword from the wall, she brought the ancient Emperor's treasure cleanly down in one swift stroke. Where it stopped a hairsbreadth from the being's throat, suspended by purple energy. Fool...if you destroy me you kill your friend. I am Selah 8, and I speak on behalf of my master Pharaoh 90! Surrender or taste death!
"Eat this!" Appearing in the doorway, blisteringly furious, Bekka Li threw a potent ice beam speedily at Selah 8. The demon woman gasped as it hit her torso, crystallizing. Smirking, she held a hand to her chest and dissolved it easily. Child's play. Have you so easily forgotten whose body I possess? A ball of fire formed at the tips of her fingers. Heat melted the ice quickly, turning to hissing steam as she built up the force of the attack.
"Henshin yo, Ami!" Bekka called desperately. Grasping her wand, Ami concentrated.
"Mercury Planet Power!"
"Mercury Guardian Power!"
Transformed in a flood of cool blue light and teardrop music; the senshi of water and ice stood in front of a gaping Andrea. "I am Sailor Mercury, the Soldier of Wisdom from the planet of subzero chill!"
"And I am Guardian Mercury, the Soldier of Intellect from the world of ice!"
Simultaneously they made some hand motions and posed again. "In the name of Suisei, douse yourself in sacred water and repent!" They glared at Selah 8.
A moment of silence ensued. The woman stood, simply staring at the two senshi in an unreadable expression. For a moment, Rei looked out from those eyes...then they flashed red. A slender hand covered her dark lips, shoulders shaking. Andrea heard laughter. Soft at first, then swelling to a harsh cacophony that shook the very floor. Sailor Mercury and her Guardian wobbled as Rei's bedroom filled with an eerie red light the pulsed throughout the air. Wiping away tears of mirth, Selah 8 chuckled darkly.
You...you think these tricks, these poses will fight for you? Do you think I am afraid of your chants and childish magic? Idiots! A booming swell of sound rolled like thunder around the compact room, creating gaping holes in the walls, eventually blasting the ceiling to bits. Still laughing, the demonic woman grabbed the two senshi by their necks and shot upwards, out of the room. The earth remained rumbling as volcanic eruptions began to take place beneath the Phobos-Deimos Palace.

Sobbing for breath, Andreana got up slowly. "I must warn Queen Kasei!" Her fist pounded against the solid stone walls, practically crumbling beneath her hands. "I can't believe it... I was too late to save..."
A soft touch startled her, made her turn only to jump back in shock. Two young girls hovered before Andrea's shocked blue eyes. Their long black hair pooled around their feather adorned ankles, twisted over each ear, strands sheathing the ruby earrings they wore. Skintight suits, sleek as lacquer, covered their slender forms. The girl on Andrea's left wore a dark charcoal grey suit. Prying a long plumy grey feather from nowhere, she whispered "Phobos, the fear of fire!"
Her twin, garbed in sheer obsidian black, raised a hand; dramatically producing a jet black feather. "Deimos, the panic of flame!" Fire ignited as they crossed the two feathers. The heat resistant Martian wonderously touched her forehead...sweat beaded and dripped off her face from the strange heat. "Don't bother informing Empress Kasei of her daughter's demise...we have already done so."
"Who...who are you?" The dance instructor back away quickly.
"Don't you remember us?" The one who had spoken first, Phobos, smiled wryly. "Of course we were in different forms then, but we're still the same inside."
Andrea shook her head slowly. "I can't believe it...you're the...the ravens?
Deimos leaned forward, dark eyes burning. "We are the twin protectors from Coronis of the one who will be Fire Queen, Princess Regent and Senshi of Mars, the one called Hino Rei!"
Andrea trembled, her azure eyes gleaming in the flickering shadowy light. "R-Rei is Sailor Mars? No wonder they haven't had any luck finding that one!"
The raven girls nodded in unison. "Yes. Which is why it is so important for her to regain her body from the being of Tau Ceti. She must also accept her role as the guardian of this planet. And so must you."
"Me?" It came out as a disgruntled squeak as Andrea fell backwards in surprise. Expecting herself to fall on stone floor, she found that she was in fact floating; suspended by Deimos as her black wings beat against the howling volcanic winds. Phobos joined her, soaring in freefall, dipping, gliding.
As she hovered in front of an amazed Andrea, a henshin wand twinkled from nowhere. Burning a dark rich burgundy, it glowed like dragonfire. Heart was engraved in gold at its base. "Take it, Andreana. Recieve your destiny."
"I-I don't believe in destiny."
Lights swirled as Andrea's vision grew dim. Smoke poured from the hole where the possessed being had taken the Mercurian Senshi. "Will your selfishness rob you of your friends, your life, your princess, nay even your planet? They all need Guardian Mars, and so do we...lest we perish like the shed flames of a dying phoenix. But without a glorious ending, and with no hope of rebirth! You must understand this, Andreana!"
Andrea closed her eyes. "But I'm just a dance teacher, a commoner. I have a life, hopes and dreams. I even have a boyfriend. I will never give him up for some play of fate! Why am I called to do this?"
"Your love and loyalty for Princess Hino Rei have chosen you as her protectorate. You are still a person...you will have more responsiblities...yet we are not asking that you throw away your love for this man to become a Senshi. For the last time...." The voices of the raven girls boomed in chorus, their dark eyes churning. "Will you become Guardian Mars?"
"I...I will..."

Surrender to me or die! Blood spattered the peaked roof of the palace. The rip between this world and that of the strange system Tau Ceti chafed and roared a silent tsunami of thunder. Coughing up phlegm and blood, Guardian Mercury propped herself up on her forearms. Her shredded fuku was torn in ribbons around her thighs and torso, blood seeping from fresh wounds stained the white material bright blue. Pale lips parted, "Never," she croaked.
A scream of rage compounded with arcs of crackling black power shot from the demon's fingers...hitting Guardian Mercury's back and neck heavily. She slumped over, moaning involuntarily. The Senshi of Water was sprawled behind her, limp and unresponsive. Thick acrid blue gore dribbled from a hit to her forehead. She shuddered as she gasped in breath through a punctured lung.
The Ice Senshi hacked and coughed, her pupils dilating in circulatory blood shock. Metallic footsteps clicked against the gold washed onyx tiles of the roof. You poor pathetic fools. If you had simply given me the Princess instead of this drawn out affair you wouldn't be dying right now.
"Rei..." whispered a now conscious Sailor Mercury. She grimaced with pain. "Come back to us. Fight for your soul, damn it, you always fought about everything else! Come back!"
A shadow passed over Selah 8, her eyes changed momentarily, turning dark. She hunched over, infinitely black strands falling over her deathly familiar features. "Mother..." she whimpered.
Some sort of sigil began to gleam on her forehead, shining a brilliant scarlet. The sign of Mars...
Selah 8 screamed shrilly, clutching her forehead in pain. The sign faded out, replaced yet again by a five cornered black star. This body...someone else is...I can't hold on to it!

A bright shaft of light beamed forth from behind the demon; straight into her screaming open mouth. Her red eyes widened, began to sparkle, glimmers of a shining magic gleamed from her wrists, fingers, ears, and parted lips. A strain of unearthly music overtoned the noise of volcanic eruptions and disturbed screams of the Martians.
Guardian Mercury looked up to see two angelic black winged girls singing and carrying..."Andreana!" Who are those two?! She yelled hoarsely, clutching her wounded body. "Stay away from here!"
"We'll be alright...save the princess!" called one of the raven girls.
Loud booms echoed across the Twin Phoenix Pass; shaking the foundation of Mars. Vibrations even caused the mighty floating palace of Phobos-Deimos to quake. People screamed and fled in fear as their cities were consumed by hot boiling lava and sulphurous ashy fumes. The Lake of Fire exploded, sending up a mile high cloud of soot and burning magma.
Still shrieking horridly, the body of Princess Rei shook, consumed with holy light. A sudden melting happened, the black star shattered into a thousand dissipating fragments. These fragments began to spin, rotating and gathering soot to form a glowering tall woman. "Ohhh..." Rei sank into Andrea's arms, holding her forehead in pain. "Andie...wh-what happened to me?"
"Shhh..." hushed the dance instructor, an unusually contemplative look in her eyes. "Save your strength."
You! The shriek that came from the demonic spirit seared their souls, piercingly evil. Selah 8 glided towards the knot of exhausted girls...YOU! She pointed a clawlike finger at Sailor Mercury, who was helped up by her guardian. Guardian Mercury chuckled roughly, her laughter almost choking her. "If you're going to blame your demise on either of us, don't waste your precious energy. We didn't do it...as we are practically going to pass out any second, I don't think we had the strength to banish you from Rei's body."
YOU!! Kasei! I thought you had a hand in this! Turning around in surprise, the young women were startled to see Queen Kasei. Stepping away from a pile of rubble, she wiped some ash off her gown. Her dark onyx eyes gleamed dangerously. "There is no concievable option that would allow you to steal my daughter's body and destroy my planet. In the name of Mars and all spirits of the flame, I commend your evil soul to the underworld...Akuryo Taisan!"
A blast of brilliantly colored fire spewed from her outstretched hands, mingling with spirals of light. The ghostly apparition laughed. To the utter disbelief and shock of all, it passed through Selah 8...like an arrow through mist. "It didn't work?!?" Kasei whispered, stunned.
Phobos and Deimos closed their eyes and touched their feathers together. A sphere of warm flame grew between the raven guardians, forming into a glowing pen with the word war engraved in gold at its base. Princess Hino Rei groaned, still shaking from her ordeal. She removed her hand from her sweaty forehead...as it had become strangely hot.
The sign of the fire planet glowed like incadescent rubies between her startled eyes. Its light shone a warm dark rose, beaming into Andrea's forehead with the same sigil. Kasei looked up, and slowly smiled as Andrea moved, her henshin wand floating above her head.
Together, Andreana and Rei stood up, their eyes looking beyond what was in reality. They stretched out their hands to the levitating wands, summoning them.
NO! Screamed Selah 8, gliding rapidly towards them. "Almost there! Don't give up!" Shouted Guardian Mercury. The Water Senshi's eyes were fastened upon the wands, which were glinting like jewels in the light emanating from their owners. The wands were now a handswidth away from their seeking fingers. A scream of inhuman ferocity sounded as Selah 8 threw a maelstrom of lethal energy at the two small figures. At exactly that moment, there was a click as their hands grasped their wands.
"Mars Planet Power!"
"Mars Guardian Power!"
Insects chirped and whistled in the hot air, flitting away from the pools of magma bubbling randomly throughout the burning towns. The destruction from the strangely active volcanoes was already being surveyed by geologists and landowners shaking their heads. Phobos-Deimos Palace was half in shambles from the battles, with gaping holes in rooms and ceilings, destroyed ancient pillars and roofs. Out of nowhere, a streak of fire appeared. Then another, yet another. So many it seemed, that it was raining gouts of flame...only that this fire burned but did not consume. All that it touched glowed in fiery radiance.
Shimmering at the center of this was Rei and Andrea, suspended and steadily rising above the shocked onlookers. Jets and spirals of dragon fire caressed their skin, their black hair gleaming like the sun, strands melting with slices of light. There was a sharp flash, blindingly white. It repelled the dark attack, blowing it away like chaff in a windstorm.
Empress Kasei looked on proudly as Sailor Mars and her Guardian descended to join their Mercurian counterparts. "I am Sailor Mars, the Soldier of War, with the power of fire!"
"And I am Guardian Mars, the Soldier of Heart with the power of spirit!"
Gold tipped red high heels clicking against the roof tiles, they joined Sailor and Guardian Mercury. While Sailor Mars' fuku was a brilliant blood red, her guardian's attire shone in a much darker shade, like spilt wine. Both wore deep violet ribbons and golden tiaras. Kasei shook her head, unable to speak for the joy she felt.
Moving in a dark blur, the ghostlike form flitted to Guardian Mars's side. Selah hissed into her ear. You silly fools...you will never defeat me or my master with your postures and posing! I'm sick of all you trussed up dolls! Sinking her misty nails into the Senshi's skin, she held the struggling guardian down and opened her mouth. The strangest song she then began to sing...for it reeked of death. Somehow in those notes was carried the decay of seasons...the turning of one form of matter to another. The deathly dirge echoed against the walls of the palace, ringing in Guardian Mars's ears. A beam of night black shadow shrieked from the ripped underworld, conjoining the otherworlds finally with Mars. To her startled eyes she saw spirits descending, millions of them. They would live in her nightmares forever...Prepare to meet Selene, you obnoxious brats!
"Mars Fire Soul!" Closing her eyes to the carnage around her, Sailor Mars concentrated. Within her mind, she envisioned a newly born flame...glowing in the darkness. She coaxed it, helping it grow as it spiralled into a convoluted inferno. Touching her pointer fingers together, she opened flashing black eyes, aimed..."Blast!"
The Mercurians gasped, clutching each other as the extreme waves of emanating heat washed over them. Blue blood fell ice cold from their open wounds, sizzling on the volcanic rock below. The fireball engulfed Selah 8 and Guardian Mars, hitting them with an explosive shock. Kasei averted her dark eyes and frowned...for she could hear that the Spirit Senshi was screaming in pain. "Not good..."
Panting, Sailor Mars keeled over. All her strength had been ensnared in that attack. She looked up, scanning the smoke with anxiety..."Please be alive, Guardian Mars. Oh please..."
Time ticked on, each second a ringing knell. The Mercurian Senshi clung to each other for respite from the hideous heat, icy sweat streaming down their cheeks, mingling with salty tears that stung in their welts. Empress Kasei slowly walked forward, red silk trailing behind. "They both survived..."murmured Phobos. Deimos lowered her head.
As much as Kasei wished it were not so, she could sense the Tau Ceti being's power, though weak, gathering itself. Another lifeform was still there, feebly holding on. Guardian Mars.
The smoke did not clear. Spirits from the underworld passed through it, billowing into the air...it formed shapes that teased their sight. Kasei took a step back..."These...these are scenes from my visions of the future?!?"
A sad queen formed of smoke reached forward with a misty hand...then was dashed to oblivion by a rearing coiled snake. Smoky palaces imploded, planets grew dim as life ebbed away from them. And at the end, eight small smoky spheres combined to form a large gem, emanating with gray light. This gem swallowed up the snake. And all this was swept together fiercely by a misted scythe in the space of a second...the smoke converging to form Selah 8's rippling form. Her face, now clearly visible, was twisted maliciously, arms still holding the singed guardian. She spoke softly, deliberately. Not even your holy fire may consume this matter that is I...for the spirits have strengthened my spirit. Give up your Princess, lay down your weapons, and I will spare you to serve me in Hades.
Sailor Mars shuddered in self revulsion, fury at herself causing tears to stream down her cheeks. I...I couldn't save her! My attack...I put everything into it and it didn't work! "I'd rather die than be in your filthy hands! She shouted, trembling visibly as her guardian stretched feebly out, smiling faintly. Selah paused, considering. Her blank eyes narrowed. No...You are not she whom I seek.
"Ami and I are the only princesses around here! And if you think that either of us are going to follow through with any twisted plans that you've cooked up, then your'e insane!"
But neither of you is the Princess of All. Selah 8 loosened her grip on Guardian Mars, who groaned as she sank to the pulsing stones below. Raising a spidery hand, Selah drew a gleaming silver rapier from thin air and held it to the Spirit Senshi's throat. I seek the One, the Princess of All Planets who is lost. She belongs to my Master, and my minions.
Sailor Mars sank to her knees. The Princess of All, Tsukino Usagi Lady Serenity. Of course. The ninjana on Mercury and Earth, the troubles of Venus and Jupiter, being possessed by this...this thing. It began to piece itself together in her mind. They all want Serenity. "No..." She whispered, head lowered.
The rapier tickled Guardian Mars's throat, dilating her pupils in fear. I am deathly serious, child. Produce the Princess of All... the blade gently raked the young Senshi's neck. ...Or she dies, and every single being on this miserable planet will become hosts for the spirits of Tau Ceti, who even now are awaiting my command.