Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken me sooooo long to write this chapter! I got really tied up in my Inuyasha fic: One More Chance. But I have come back to this fic, and I am happy to say that this is the last chapter! I know, it's sad, but I really don't have anything left to say in this story. I think I've wrapped everything up. Anyway, as always, read and review!
Disclaimer: don't own: Sailor Moon and other characters on the Sailor Moon anime or in the manga. Do own: (So)Lara, Tran(quillity), (Solo)Staran, Sol and Heaven's Starlight
Chapter 17: To Dream A Dream
Lara, Tran, Tiger, Amara and Michelle ran into the house and up the stairs to Serena's room. When they walked in, they saw the inner scouts still stuck in a ball, all trying at once to get free, and getting more tangled up in the process. The only one who wasn't struggling at the moment was Serena. She was staring unbelievingly at the spot where Hawk's Eye had disappeared with her daughter. Then she started struggling even harder than the others, tears streaming down her face while she whispered "Renee" over and over again.
Lara and Tran ran forward to their sister and tried to calm her down, but she wasn't listening. She didn't even seem to know that they were there. Amara pulled her sword out and came toward the net that was holding the inner scouts. She very carefully grabbed some of the sticky stuff and slashed it in half. When part of the net was destroyed, the rest of it fell apart in a poof of confetti and the five girls that were being held inside of it fell awkwardly all over the floor.
Lara and Tran pulled Serena out from under everyone else. "What happened to Renee, Serena?" Lara asked gently.
Serena burst into fresh tears. "One of Tiger's 'friends', Hawk's Eye I think, looked into Renee's dreams and saw that she held Pegasus in her dreams. So he took her through the portal after he tied us up in that net." Then Serena dissolved completely into tears and they couldn't make out the rest of what she was saying.
Rei came over to where the three of them were sitting and gently extricated Serena from their grasp. Then she whispered "gomen" to them and proceeded to slap Serena across the face. Serena immediately snapped out of her tears and glared at Rei.
"What was that for?" Serena yelled.
"Gomen Serena, but crying wasn't going to get you anywhere, and you need to be thinking clearly to help us find Renee. It seemed like slapping you was the only way to do that at the time..." Rei looked truly sorry, but she also looked determined at the same time.
Serena nodded, understanding the logic of what her sometimes-best friend had said to her. "All right scouts, we have to figure out how to get Renee back!"
Tiger stepped forward. "Well... I could take you where Hawk's Eye took her. I do happen to know where that would be."
Lara looked at him with shining eyes. "That would be so great Tiger! Arigato!!"
Tiger just smiled at her. "All right, I'll open the portal. And call me Treya, okay?" Everyone looked a little stunned at that but they all nodded, smiles covering their faces. Treya turned around and opened his portal and everyone jumped through, including the cats who had all silently entered the room after the scouts.
Renee woke to a cold feeling surrounding her body. She seemed to be floating in mid-air with the help of only a few shimmering strands of energy tied to her wrists and ankles. There didn't seem to be anyone around at the moment, so she opened her eyes and looked around.
Everything around her was dark. She couldn't see anything above her or below her, except for the strands of power. Oh! So that's how I'm hanging her... She looked all around her and couldn't see anything but darkness, except for one place where she could see shimmering much like the strands holding her in the air. There seemed to be a cocoon of the strands over there.
Out of the darkness behind her, Renee heard the swishing of heavy fabric on a stone floor. She craned her head around to see who was coming. When the figure came close enough for her to see, Renee saw a tall woman with dark hair and a crescent moon on her forehead.
Well, you're awake now, are you? Who would have thought that Pegasus would hide in a puny little girl like you? Of course, he did always like that little brat from the kingdom of the sun, and she wasn't much older than you when she died." The woman said cruelly to Renee.
Renee's eyes began to tear, but she wouldn't allow her tears to fall. "You're so mean! What do you want with Pegasus?" Renee demanded, sounding much less scared than she felt.
The woman looked taken aback. "Who are you to be asking such questions of me? I am the true Queen of the Moon Kingdom! You are just an earthling brat that Pegasus thought was a bit like his dear Solara."
Renee started at that jab. Oh Pegasus, is that true? Did you only come to me because I'm like someone you once knew? Renee was so caught up in her own thoughts that she missed some of the things that the woman was saying.
...you asked so nicely about my plans, I'll tell you. It's not like you can do anything about it! You see my dear, I was imprisoned in this pocket of space several thousand years ago by the usurper of the crown of the Moon Kingdom and her husband, the King of the Sun. I spent many years here, without any hope of escape, when a fellow Queen with a vendetta against the Moon Kingdom and its new "Queen" found a way to contact me. This Queen Beryl told me that she would free me and restore my kingdom to me, if I would show her the way to get rid of that retched "Queen" Serenity."
Renee gasped. If she finds out that I'm the daughter of the former princess Serenity, she'll kill me!
The woman didn't notice that Renee's thoughts were elsewhere and continued. "So I told her how to get through the defences surrounding the Moon. Just as Beryl was about to destroy Serenity, that false Queen used the ginzuishu to trap Beryl, as she had trapped me, and send everyone in the Moon Kingdom forward in time. When Beryl was released, she found me once again and told me what she had found out. I needed the power of Pegasus, the dream weaver, to release me. The problem was, no one knew where he had gone to after Solara died. So, I have been searching for him. And now... I have found him!" The woman looked coldly at Renee.
Renee shivered under that gaze. To her, it seemed that she would die just from that look. She was so frightened that she couldn't have said anything, even if she wanted to.
"Now all I have to do is get him to come out so I can use his power to free me from this horrible place so I can reign over the Moon Kingdom as I rightfully should have before!" The woman advanced to where Renee lay, suspended in the air.
Renee's thoughts turned inward. Don't come out Pegasus! Stay inside of me! If you're still with me, like they seem to think you are, stay in there!
The woman, who had not yet given her name, came at Renee with a knife. Renee could see it glinting in the light of the power strands. "Come out Pegasus, unless you'd like this one to die as well..."
Everyone jumped out of the portal and landed in what seemed to be a circus tent. Treya advanced first. "I know this place, and I know where the traps are. Stay close to me."
They were all happy to do as Treya said. Serena had one question to ask though. "Where is Renee though? I thought that you knew where she was" She whispered to Treya.
Treya looked back at her. "I have an idea of where she should be if she had Pegasus in her dreams. Hawk's Eye would have taken her to Neherenia."
Lara asked the question on everyone's minds. "Who's Neherenia, and what does she want with Renee?"
Treya looked at her, his eyes taking on a softness that was only there when he looked at her. "Neherenia is the one that sent me and Hawk's Eye and Fish Eye after Pegasus. She wants Renee because Hawk's Eye saw Pegasus in her dreams. Other than that, none of us know." They continued on a bit further. "Everyone has to be extra quiet now, we're coming up to Neherenia's mirror."
Everyone was wondering what was so special about a mirror, but when they saw it, they understood right away. This was no ordinary mirror.
"Okay, we can go through this way, but as far as I know, once you go through, you can't come back." Treya whispered, just barely loud enough for everyone to hear.
Serena remained determined. She could sense her daughter's energy signature through the mirror. The rest of the scouts noticed the determination on their leader's face and nodded in agreement. They would not leave the small princess in this Neherenia's care either.
Lara looked at her sister and her brother in turn, then she looked and Treya. He could tell from the look on her face that she would also be going through the mirror. At that moment, he decided that he too would go through the mirror, even if only to die with her there.
Tran had decided at the same time as Serena that he would be going through the mirror. He had some memory of stories of this Neherenia, and the horrible things she had done to the people of the Moon Kingdom before her reign was ended.
The cats, of course, knew that they would be going with the group through the mirror, they had known that even before Serena.
Everyone looked at the dark piece of glass, and then Serena, Lara, and Tran grasped each other's hands and walked through the glass. The rest of the group followed after them. The sight that welcomed them was not a nice one.
There before them stood Queen Neherenia. And in front of her, hanging from energy threads, was Renee, covered in blood from the cuts all over her body. So far Neherenia hadn't noticed the entrance of the group into her domain. "Why won't you come out of her? Don't you care about her?" Neherenia yelled at Renee's inert form.
Serena cried out at the sight of her daughter. She knew that Renee wasn't dead, but she didn't seem far from it. Neherenia turned at the sound and just stared.
"Serenity!" She yelled, glaring coldly at Serena. "You're the daughter of that upstart Queen, aren't you?" She looked at Tran. "And you're her twin brother. Tranquillity was your name, right?" Then her gaze turned to Lara. "Ah! That is why Pegasus will not come from this child! He has left her for the one he has been searching for all these years. Welcome Solara, Protector of Dreams! Give up Pegasus, and I will free the child."
Everyone stared, first at the Neherenia, then at Lara. Lara stared at Neherenia as if she had sprouted a second head. "Pegasus? He hasn't entered my dreams since I was very young!"
Neherenia stopped dead in her tracks at that statement. Then she turned back to Renee. "Then perhaps, he values his own life above that of this child." Then she got an evil glint in her eye and turned back to Lara. "But I know that he values your life far higher than his own."
With that statement, Neherenia flew at Lara, being blocked just in time by Uranus' sabre. The outer scouts all lined up in front of Lara, while Treya pulled her back and away from Neherenia. The inner scouts moved up beside Serena, and chaos ensued as the scouts began attacking the enraged queen.
Something deep within Lara cried out when her eyes fell on Renee once again through the crush of bodies. It felt like there someone else inside of her, crying out to be released. She didn't know how she did it, but Lara released the being inside of her, and a white winged unicorn seemed to just jump out of Lara's body and charge towards Renee.
The unicorn, Pegasus Lara realized, took a moment to cut Renee's bonds and take her on his back, then continued on toward the cocoon. Lara watched as Pegasus ran right up to the cocoon and ran his horn through the glowing strands. Neherenia turned just in time to see the cocoon fall apart and a man fall out.
Lara recognized him immediately. "Staran!" She cried out as the red haired man fell to the ground.
Tran and Serena turned at her cry and saw the man lying on the ground. "Solostaran!" Tran called.
Lara broke free of Treya's grasp and ran through the barrier of the outer scouts toward the prone figure on the ground. Serena and Tran ran toward Staran as well, while the rest of the scouts held off Neherenia.
Staran opened his eyes and looked at the three figures standing over him. A smile spread over his face as he recognized the faces of his brother and sisters. He seemed to gain strength quickly as he lay there silently. Then he looked toward the fight that was going on between the scouts and the dark Queen. "Neherenia...." He whispered in a cold voice.
Lara put out her hand to her older brother, and Serena and Tran helped him up too. In a few moments, the four siblings were all standing together, shoulder to shoulder. In a flash of light, they were all dressed in the suits and gowns of the two royal families to which they belonged. Serena and Tran in white and gold, Lara and Staran in red and gold. Serena held the ginzuishu in her hands, while Lara held an orb of fire in hers, both of their brothers had their swords in hand.
Neherenia glared at the four of them, then tried to turn and run, but it was too late. Staran held up his sword, and Tran crossed his sword with it, then Solara brought the orb of fire up to the swords and it flew up to the joining of the swords. Finally, Serena came forward with the moon crystal and it too flew up toward the joining of the swords. When all four came together, there was a bright flash of light, and from four throats came the cry: "Heaven's Starlight!"
Rays of light washed through the endless darkness and pierced through blackness of Neherenia's soul. Whatever was evil there died away.
When the light faded, Neherenia stood in the middle of the scouts still, but her demeanour was completely changed. Where there had once been a completely evil woman, now there stood a woman resplendent in light, who faded away before their very eyes. Just before she disappeared completely, she said: "I am deeply sorry for the problems I have given you, keepers of dreams. I will trouble you no more. Continue to dream brightly children, your dreams light the universe!" Then she was gone, leaving only a few sparkling motes in the air.
When everyone could look away from the place where Neherenia had disappeared from, they noticed that the glass wall they had come through had cracked and splintered. Without Neherenia's power, the black circus was beginning to disappear, so everyone turned to Treya who made a portal for them to get away.
Everyone jumped into the portal, ending up back in Serena's room.
Lara looked around the room at all of the people sitting there. It had been quite a few hours since Neherenia had been destroyed. Those hours had been spent getting reacquainted with family, and learning the whole story behind the Amazon Trio, and Pegasus.
The Amazon Trio had actually been royalty from Alpha Centauri who had been in the Moon Kingdom at the time of Beryl's attack. Their souls had been reborn in animal bodies for some reason, and their true nature could not be discovered until they had been put back into their natural forms.
Pegasus, or Helios as his true name was, had been a great friend of Solara's in the Sun Kingdom long ago. In fact, they had been betrothed just before the attack on the Moon Kingdom. Helios was the Dream Weaver, and Solara was to become the Dream Protector, as Neherenia had called her. When she had died, he had searched for her through time, but had not been able to find her. He had found his true soulmate in Renee, however, as Solara had found hers in Treya.
Solostaran was in the process of finding out the situation in the Star Kingdom through a device much like Luna's "Master Control" and it sounded like the other ruling families were happy to have ruling monarch again for the Sun Kingdom.
Treya had gotten in touch with his home planet with a similar device, and they were sending some people to bring him and the other two Alpha Centauri royals home. He had asked Lara to come with them, but she wasn't sure yet. It would be a few months before they would be able to leave, so Lara knew she would have time to talk to her parents about the possibility. She smiled at the thought of explaining this whole thing to her parents, but she knew that she had enough to prove the veracity of her claims that they would probably believe her.
Tran was looking into the possibility of returning a thriving community to the moon, and Serena was only too happy to designate him the new King of the Moon, whenever that community might be established.
Serena looked extremely happy. As she had said to everyone not long ago, she now had her own life to lead. One without any "destiny" over shadowing her, one where she could be herself. And one where she had her whole family with her.
Lara looked at her family. Her sister and brothers, her new friends, and her new love. I think I'm going to go to Alpha Centauri after all... She thought, smiling at Treya. He smiled back and pulled her against him. She snuggled into him. Yes, I definitely think I'm going. To dream a dream of a home, a love, a life of my very own.
Well...... that's it! I can't believe it over! Thank you to all of you who have reviewed this story! You guys have been my inspiration! If you have any interest in Inuyasha, please check out my other fic, One More Chance. Anyway, I'm done. Ja!
Sun-princess2
