REAWAKENING
Book One of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon CosmicStars
by Nashie (aka ShadowSamurai)
December 1999 - April 2000
Revised - Summer/Fall 2002
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and her friends belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The author takes no credit for any of the original storyline. However, all the new characters belong to me and I'd appreciate it if you didn't take any without requesting permission.
Episode 216: Worried Chibiusa! Save the outer soldiers!
"Minako-chan!"
"Shhh..."
"Usagi-chan?"
"Is she here!?"
"Be quiet! A real lady NEVER RAISES HER VOICE!" Usagi screamed. The other inner senshi had gathered at a park. They were all peering from behind a park bench. They saw Hotaru sitting alone near the pond, around 50 feet in front of them. They had been watching her intensely ever since Michiru had disappeared. And Hotaru didn't know it.
"Quiet!" Rei hissed, clapping her hand over the hysterical Usagi. "She'll hear us!" Chibiusa stared at the black-haired girl, sitting solemnly in the same outfit she had worn when she first met her.
"This isn't right," Ami whispered, turning away in embarrassment. "We shouldn't spy on Hotaru-chan like this." Chibiusa turned to Ami in fury, her red eyes blazing.
"What do you mean?" she growled, her voice like a tiger's. "This is Hotaru-chan's SAFTEY we're talking about! I'm trying to SAVE her from DISAPPEARING!"
"Oh no!" Mako moaned, pulling everybody down. They peeked hesitantly over the bench. Hotaru had turned around curiously. When she saw no one, Hotaru turned back to look sullenly towards the pool. All the inners breathed a sigh of relief.
Hotaru watched with desolate eyes at the aqua colored water. Ever since Michiru had disappeared, all she wanted to do was cry. Cry until she had no tears left to cry with. Loneliness, worry, and grief had spread like a disease over her heart.
"Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama," Hotaru whispered, her voice choked. "Where are you? How could you leave me alone like this? I'm too young to deal with this. I'm not even fourteen yet. Why?" Hotaru felt someone's presence at her side, but didn't bother to look up. She just buried her head in her hands.
"Miss Saturn-san, I presume?" a musical voice asked. It sounded as if the voice was holding back a tinkling chuckle. Hotaru didn't even care to look up. It was over for her now anyway. Where did she have to turn?
Chibiusa recognized the tall brunette standing next to Hotaru. Her eyes widened. "It's Hogoshi-chan! She's after Hotaru!" The other older girls looked up and saw what Chibiusa was saying was true.
"Oh, god!" Usagi murmured. She clutched the brooch on her chest. "Let's go." The other girls pulled out their henshin pens, except for Chibiusa who pulled out her crisis locket.
"Moon eternal power..."
"Mercury crystal power..."
"Mars crystal power..."
"Jupiter crystal power..."
"Venus crystal power..."
"Moon crisis power..."
"Make UP!" There were six flashes of light and the inner planet soldiers of the solar system appeared. Eternal Sailor Moon glared at the chibi sailor soldier of the moon.
"Are you ready?" she asked. But Chibi Moon wasn't paying any sort of attention to her. She was staring at Hotaru while the older inner soldiers were staring at the pink-haired child. "Chibi Moon?"
Chibi Moon raised one shaky hand and pointed to Hotaru and Hogoshi. The other inner senshi looked towards the couple and gasped. Hotaru had her arms around Hogoshi and was hugging her tightly. Chibi Moon stared on in horror.
"Hotaru-chan!" Mars yelled, her fiery aura growing brighter. "Get away from that girl!" Hotaru turned to the commotion. Tears filled her violet eyes, spilling down her cheeks.
"No," she replied. Her voice was heavy with grief. "Not Hogoshi-chan. I won't let you attack her!" Chibi Moon stared at Hotaru as though she had lost her mind.
"Hotaru-chan!" the girl cried. "She hasn't got you tricked, has she?" Hogoshi stared at the future princess with sad eyes. Letting go of Hotaru, she walked calmly before Eternal Sailor Moon. The moon on Sailor Moon's forehead glowed brightly. Jupiter stepped in front of her, ready to protect their princess.
To everyone's surprise, Hogoshi's uniform exploded into silver ribbons before transforming into her sailor fuku. She bowed elegantly in one fine swoop before Sailor Moon before kneeling down on one knee. Her green eyes sparkled.
"I have no illusions," Destiny said in a bell like voice. She lowered her head. "But Miss Saturn-san must come with me." Chibi Moon's eyes narrowed.
"NEVER!" she screamed, running between her and the small teenager. "You'll NEVER EVER take Hotaru-chan like you did Haruka-san, Michiru-san, and Pu!" Destiny's eyes swelled up with tears.
"God, you think I did that on purpose!?" she asked a tortured voice. "I'd never hurt those three. I'd never hurt Saturn!"
"You took their souls! You KILLED them!"
"No, never!" Destiny screamed. Her green eyes were full of agony. "I could never hurt them." Sailor Moon's blue eyes softened. She was beginning to believe this girl.
"I need Saturn to come with me for her healing powers," Destiny whispered, her voice raspy from yelling. "If she doesn't..."
"To heal one of your damned sisters!?" Chibi Moon spat out, her eyes raging. Sailor Moon glared at her future daughter with a familiar look in her eye.
"Watch your mouth, young lady," she reminded. The comment was so innocent, the other inners would have laughed if it had not been for the seriousness of the conversation.
"Let me go."
The soldiers stared at Hotaru in surprise. She hadn't said anything in the entire conversation and now spoke up. Chibi Moon stared at her second best friend in near shock.
"Hotaru-chan?" she whispered. She began running to the girl. "You're going to leave me like Pu did?" Hotaru's eyes widened, causing more tears to spill from her eyes.
"I feel so torn, Chibiusa-chan," Hotaru murmured. "I don't want to leave you here, but if I don't go, Haruka-papa's condition might get worse." All heads swerved over to Hotaru, shocked expressions on their face. Sailor Moon's eyes widened.
"Haruka-san...?" she gasped. The other sailors had noted it too. "Haruka-san... you mean..."
"She's alive?" Venus finished. Destiny nodded with a sad look in her usually snappy eyes.
"But very, very sick," she replied. Chibi Moon stared at Sailor Destiny, who had taken Pu away from her. Now she was going to take Hotaru away too? With a puffy look on her face, she grasped Hotaru's hand.
"I'm going too!" she declared. Sailor Moon stared at the pink sailor suited soldier. She smiled sweetly and knelt down beside Destiny. Gently touching her elbow, she lifted the girl to her feet. Though much taller than her, Sailor Moon looked straight into Destiny's eyes.
"She's telling the truth," Sailor Moon whispered. Putting a determined voice on, she put on a goofy smile. "So let's go! What are we waiting for?"
In a flash of purple light, the inners saw that Saturn had transformed. Chibiusa held her hand calmly. She dragged Saturn by the arm as she reached and grabbed Sailor Moon's hand. Mercury took Destiny's hand hesitantly and then held Venus. Venus took Jupiter's hand. Jupiter, realizing the teleportation circle, took Mars hand who took Sailor Moon's hand.
Everyone smiled at each other with a good luck smile. Closing their eyes, they concentrated their powers. Feeling a bit uneasy, Destiny squeezed Sailor Moon's hand. Sending a smile towards Destiny, Sailor Moon firmly held the girl's hand.
Seven separate lights glowed, the aura of each of the sailor senshi. Concentrating their minds into Destiny's, they looked at her expectantly. She smiled shyly. "To the Dark Moon!"
"Sailor Teleport!"
Sailor Moon collapsed to the ground, landing on her side. She stared around the empty darkness. She was in a very large room of some sort. There seemed to be no ceiling because she could see the stars glittering above. The floor was covered with pale fog. From each corner in the room, a silver light glowed brightly. But other than that light and the light of the stars, it was dark.
"Chibi Moon..." Sailor Moon hissed, looking around her. It was nearly pitch black in the room. She noticed a stone table in the back of the room. Not caring about what that was, she searched feverishly around her for the others. "Destiny? Venus? Mars?"
"Who's there?" a voice asked from the darkness. Sailor Moon froze and held her breath. That wasn't Sailor Destiny...
"I said, 'who's there?'" the voice repeated again. It sounded very tired and crossed this time. Sailor Moon didn't respond. Where was Destiny? And Saturn? And Chibi Moon?
"Mama?" a scared voice asked. Sailor Moon spun around and saw Chibi Moon lying next to her. Sailor Moon put her fingers to the girl's mouth. She shook her head.
"Be quiet," she whispered in a toneless voice. "There's someone else in here besides us." Chibi Moon nodded in response, showing that she understood. The two moon soldier sat huddled in the darkness, waiting.
"That's it," the voice repeated again. It sounded very ticked off. "I've given you two chances. I'm tired and not in a good mood. So, this is your last chance. Who's there?"
Still, there was silence.
"Fine then. Have it your way. Deep SUBMERGE!" Both Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon's eyes widened in shock as a tidal wave of water came hurtling at them.
"Silence Wall!" A transparent wall came up and the watery attack splattered against it. Sailor Moon and Chibi Moon automatically stood up. Saturn, Destiny, and the other inners were coming from the other side of the room. Not until then did the two moon soldiers see a wavy-haired figure near the table in the back of the room.
"Michiru-san!"
Neptune stared at them, her eyes growing huge. "Sailor Moon? Is it you?" Sailor Moon didn't even answer. Her heart just suddenly exploded in joy as she ran toward Sailor Neptune. She wrapped the soldier in a warm hug, tears spilling from her eyes.
"Neptune..." she sobbed. Sailor Moon looked up at the girl and her eyes widened again. Neptune's deep blue eyes seemed too huge for her face and her teal hair was windblown and messy.
"Neptune!" Chibi Moon cried, running towards the soldier. But another voice stopped her.
"Small Lady?" Chibi Moon stopped in mid-run. She stared over to her left where the voice had come from. Her red eyes filled with tears, emotion overwhelming her.
"Pu?" she whispered as she saw a tall, dark figure step from the darkness. Pluto nodded weakly. Chibi Moon cried out in joy as she ran over to the guardian of time. Pluto kneeled down as Chibi Moon ran right into her. It took most of Pluto's strength to keep from falling over. Chibi Moon was crying hysterically.
"Pu!" she cried repeatedly in unabashed joy. Tears didn't seem as though they would stop. Chibi Moon stared up at her beloved friend's face. Her eyes were glittering, but seemed tired. She was thinner since Chibi Moon had last seen her. The garnet rod was nowhere to be seen.
Neptune looked over at Destiny, smiling softly. "Thank you, Destiny." Sailor Moon unwrapped herself from Neptune and also smiled a thank you towards the sailor senshi. The other inner soldiers also smiled towards Destiny.
Chibi Moon, embarrassed, looked over at Destiny. She smiled as crystal tears spilled down her cheeks. "Thank you, Hogoshi-chan! Thank you..."
Suddenly, Sailor Moon's head snapped up, remembering why they had come here. She backed away from Neptune and studied her. "Where's Uranus?" Neptune's eyes suddenly lost the light they had when Sailor Moon had appeared. They became shiny with tears instead.
"Back here," she whispered. The other sailor senshi looked at each other hesitantly, but followed Neptune to the table in the back of the room. Saturn looked through the darkness and saw that someone was lying on the pillar. She didn't need to guess who it was.
Sailor Moon quietly approached the table. Uranus was lying unconscious on top of it. She was noticeably thin and her face was very, very pale. She looked dead. Trying not to cry out in fear, Sailor Moon grasped Uranus' right hand with one hand and felt her forehead with the other. Quickly, she pulled it back. The soldier was burning up!
Turning to Neptune, she stared quietly. "What's wrong with her?" Neptune looked at her beloved friend on the pillar and shook her head.
"Where do I start?" Neptune asked. "She has a high fever. She's been worried sick about you, Sailor Moon. She hasn't been sleeping, she hasn't been eating either and she's dehydrated. And to top it off, her soul has been taken. She's really, really sick."
Staring at the unconscious sailor soldier, Destiny shook her head. "I'm sorry, Miss Uranus-san. I didn't mean for this to happen. I really, really didn't." Tears spilled from her cheeks. "I never did."
There was silence in the room. It was a long, thoughtful quiet. The sailor senshi looked at one another, their eyes sad and desolate. This battle was so brutal, so awful. Those Sailor Twins had caused all this. Turning their own sister on her best friends, causing mischief and distress to all the soldiers, and ruining everyone's lives just for revenge.
"Haruka-papa," Hotaru whispered, her quiet voice vibrating through the darkness. She walked towards the pillar, her footsteps echoing through the quiet serene. Placing her hand on Uranus' deep blue brooch, she concentrated her healing powers on the blonde soldier. An eerie purple light came from her hand. The others watched as the purple light grew intense. The light reflected on their eyes and faces.
Saturn pulled her hand back suddenly. She grasped her glaive firmly and became as still as stone. In a low, hushed whisper, she turned to the others. "On the count of three, turn your attacks towards the middle of the room. One..." The other senshi stared at her, confused.
"THREE!" The darkness suddenly erupted in light as all the attacks of the sailor senshi burst to the center of the room. There were two flashes of pink and blue light.
"Nightmare Silence!"
"Magical Illusion!" The two Sailor Twin's attacks blasted the other attacks backwards. Saturn's eyes widened at the oncoming attacks.
"Silence Wall!" she yelled, creating a barrier around herself and the other sailor soldiers. MagicStar and DreamStar smiled, their eyes wicked. They stared at the other sailor senshi.
"What's all this Hogoshi?" MagicStar asked, her gray eyes shining. She tossed her magenta ponytail dramatically. "You did such a good job bringing all of the sailor senshi here." DreamStar nodded in agreement.
"Yes. Bravo little sister," she said, clapping her hand together. Destiny glowered at the two evil sailor senshi. Her green eyes were no longer had the haziness they had before.
"I am NOT your little sister," Destiny spat out. "Even thinking about being related to you makes me sick." MagicStar clucked her tongue.
"Get Saturn's soul, Destiny," she said in her pale voice. "Now. Don't make us mad." Destiny shook her head, coming between them and the soldier of silence.
"No one hurts Miss Saturn-san!" she argued. Her eyes narrowed. "You made me hurt three of my closest friends already. I'll never EVER listen to you again! Never again!" DreamStar's eyes raged in fury.
"Well, if you don't do it, I will!" she yelled. "Nightmare..." The electric blue ball appeared before her. She launched it casually into the air and smiled at the other sailor senshi dreadfully. They stared in horror as the attack began heading toward them. "Silence!"
"World Shaking!"
Author's Note: A cliffhanger! I can't bear the torture of reading this story. If you, o faithful reader, has made it this far. The pain will soon be relinquished. Two more chapters to go.
Two things about this chapter. One – Hogoshi suddenly switches sides at the drop of a hat. I'm going to explain this as simply as my mind worked five years ago. The three oldest outer senshi convince Hogoshi of her real past, by means of her memories that had always emerged whenever she took their souls. So, Hogoshi is like 'Ohmigawd! I actually liked you guys! My sisters are evil for making me forget you! And then they used me for their own devious plots! I love you guys!' and there's this huge group hug (well, minus Uranus, who was currently out cold for the moment). So the outers are then like 'hey, we need Saturn in here to heal Haruka or she's gonna die'. So Hogoshi skips into the real world, meets up with Saturn, and this story takes it from there. Confused? (nods) Should be.
Number two, I noticed now that Hogoshi calls the outer senshi Miss Saturn-san, Miss Neptune-san, etc. Now, in Japanese, both the 'miss' and the '-san' would make the entire thing repetitive. But hey, five years ago, my Japanese was next to non-existant. So, just bear with me on this one, okay?
REALLY big battle next chapter. And then the epilogue to this arc.
See ya in the next chapter's Author's Note!