The Reunion
The four young ladies, accompanied by their whimsical crystal keepers, wandered back in the foyer of the palace.
"Remember," said Ceres, folding her arms, "you have to hold the crystal aloft, and call the name of your guardian god, then crystal power, make up! That should begin your transformation into your alternate forms."
"Don't be alarmed if your appearances change, even drastically!" Vesta said, wagging a finger. "At the time you assume total servitude to your guardian deities, you will assume an appearance pleasing to a warrior of that deity."
The girls nodded solemnly.
"Now, hurry along!" said Pallas, shooing at the girls. "Before someone sees—"
"There!" The eight women whirled. A young palace guard of Beryl's was standing behind them, trembling. Seeing the four brightly-colored, glowing crystals was quite a fear-inspiring sight. So the guard did the only thing of which he could think.
"Guards!"
Rei cursed fiercely, and the girls rushed at the palace doors as the four maidens of Elysian vanished into thin air. A battalion of guards arrived in the foyer in seconds, yelling at the women.
"Get them! They're getting away!"
"Is that Princess Serenity?"
"By gods, it is her!"
"What do they have?"
"I'm not sure, but I know Beryl will want it!"
A guard lurched forward to grab one of the women, aiming at the first one he saw. Unfortunately, he chose Lita.
Crying out, she bucked backwards and knocked him off, then kicked the man in the gut, causing him to fall backwards.
That caused the rest of the guard to be enraged, and they flew at the girls, coming from left and right.
The four ladies looked at each other and exchanged glances. Minako gazed down at the crystal floating above her hand.
Almost as an afterthought, she thrust the crystal in the direction of a battalion of guards that was gathered before her, focusing her mind on the serene vision of her guardian goddess, Venus.
A bolt of golden power emitted from the Topaz Crystal and went flying towards the guards charging at her. The golden power struck headway into most of them, knocking them to the jeweled floor in a might display of power.
The other guards backed away.
Minako and the other three ladies turned their attention to the crystals resting above their hands, glowing in mighty power.
Then Minako fainted.
"Come on!" Lita said, bounding towards the blonde-haired girl and grabbing her side. Ami went to Minako's other side and aided Lita in supporting her. "Let's get out of here before they decide to attack again!"
As the guard considered doing just that, the four ladies dashed out of the front doors of the palace, running as fast as they could.
Sailor Uranus kicked, her boot catching the black-suited soldier in the neck. A swift punch backwards disabled the soldier about to jump on her back.
Sailor Neptune was faring well also, doing a swift roundhouse kick that knocked out four of her opponents. A quick chop defeated one that tried to rise again.
They stopped, turned to one another, and panted.
"These are hardly outfits married women should wear," Neptune remarked.
The comment made Uranus burst into laughter. "I doubt Somnus and Orcas will mind much," she said. Then her face grew solemn. "Oh, Neptune...what if they're..."
"Don't think on it," Neptune warned, shaking her head. "This is a horrendous battle. But Somnus and Orcas are strong."
Sailor Uranus nodded, but she wasn't so sure.
The girls continued to run through the palace. They were still looking for the Silver Crystal, but the task was getting harder as the Erebese troops continued to advance through the palace, gaining new levels and bringing the palace down with their vile magic. Although fending off the soldiers was fairly easy, the task was tedious and time-consuming.
"In here," Uranus directed, pointing to a room in the hall. They had been searching random rooms for hours, without much luck. No Silver Crystal.
Sailor Neptune followed her partner into the room and shut the door behind her, panting frantically. The two of them rested for a few seconds, and looked around the room.
Neither one of them had ever seen this room of the palace before – which wasn't odd, because there were hundreds of rooms in the grand palace, only a few of which they deemed to visit. The floor was a glassy marble, and Neptune could see the reflection of her angular face when looking down at it. The room was rather large, and circular – and completely empty.
"Why keep an empty room?" Uranus asked, her voice echoing off the walls.
Neptune shrugged delicately. Her aqua eyes scanned the room, until they fell onto something.
The only fixture in the room – a marble pillar. From the looks of it, the pillar would come to about Uranus's waist. It was simple as pillars went, but something in her told her it was more than what it seemed.
"Look," she said to her sister, pointing to the pillar. "Odd. It's not in the middle of the floor, but off to the side. Why? It's the only fixture in the room."
Uranus nodded, and boldly strode over to where the pillar stood, off to one side. She stood looking down into it.
"Neptune, come here! Look!"
Sailor Neptune stood and walked to where Uranus was standing, staring into the pillar.
She gasped.
Spinning serenely under the glass top of the pillar was a silver-colored crystal.
"It has to be the Silver Crystal," she breathed. "See how it emits its own light? And it's floating. Regular gemstones don't do that..."
Uranus nodded. "How do we get it out?"
"Mother said that we had the power, being born of the one who was last in possession of the crystal...perhaps we should try and focus our powers together, see what will happen?"
Uranus shrugged. "I was going to suggest we break the glass...but your idea sounds a lot less painful. And a lot more likely to work."
Neptune chuckled, then extened her hand over the pillar. Uranus did the same, touching their palms. They closed their eyes and focused on their guardians, Neptune of the seas, Uranus of the heavens.
A bright light exploded from both of their tiaras, and they disappeared, the signs of their guardian gods shining on their foreheads in their place. A shattering noise was heard, and when Neptune decided to peek, she saw it was the Silver Crystal, breaking its protective covering and raising from the pillar it was encased in. She and Uranus brought her hands further apart, and the crystal raised between them, spinning.
"Wow..."
"Let's get it," Uranus said. She attempted to scoop the crystal into her hands, but it followed the arc of her arm and was 'guided' by her body to rest between her and Neptune.
She raised an eyebrow. "Think it's going to follow us?"
Neptune giggled. "Let's hope."
The sisters took off, bounding towards the entrance of the palace.
"Ami, Rei, Lita, Minako!"
Serenity smiled brightly when the girls flew into the grove, out of breath and tired from running. Her smiled faltered a little when she realized that Minako was leaning on Ami, breathing much harder than the other girls, appearing winded. "What happened to Minako?"
"She let off this awesome burst of power–!" Lita's excitement seemed to exhaust her, and she pointed to Minako. "The guards attacked us in the foyer. I was prepared to fight them physically, but Minako just let loose a blast with that crystal of hers!"
"It would seem that these crystals lend immense raw powers to us," Ami said.
"As well as follow us around," Rei mused. Although the girls' hands had been otherwise occupied, the crystals had hovered over their shoulders, 'running' with them and so forth.
"We have to transform..." Minako choked and coughed; she seemed to be coming around. "We have to use their power to transform into the servants of the deities. Perhaps the powers won't tax us so..."
Serenity nodded. "But let's get away from the palace. I don't want the guards to come out and see you guys in a vulnerable moment. Besides, we have to meet Helios a ways away! The guards chased him until they got tired, but if he flies back over here, they're gonna spot him again."
The girls agreed and followed Serenity out of the grove, through a forest. Serenity paused when they were in the thick of the forest, and turned expectantly to the girls. "The trees should hide Helios as best as possible when he lands, and should hide any displays of power you might show..." She smiled. "Go on."
Ami was suddenly struck with a revelation. "What about you, Queen Serenity? Don't you have any powers of your own?"
Serenity shook her head. "It doesn't seem that way," she answered. "From what I understood, it was only my duty to round up you four, so you could fight Beryl. I don't think I was expected to fight alongside you..."
Rei shook her head. "Somehow, I feel that you may be wrong, my queen."
Serenity smiled, but threw up her hands. "You may be right, but I don't have anything to transform myself with," she said. "Hurry, you all do so, so that we can advance on Beryl! Who knows what she's plotting now..."
Helios fluttered behind Serenity and quickly initiated his own transformation to his human form. Took me a half hour to outrun those guards, he grumbled.
The girls giggled, then turned to each other solemnly.
"Well?" Minako said, staring at the Topaz Crystal hovering over her shoulder. The crystals seemed to almost be entities unto themselves. The Ruby Crystal had taken up residence before Rei's bosom, and Ami's Sapphire Crystal was hovering next to her head. Lita's Emerald Crystal was hovering over her head, like a halo. "Are you ready to try this out?" She seemed to be talking to the crystal as much as her three friends.
The girls nodded, and the crystals glowed in response, all four floating directly in front of their owners.
Ami shook her head in wonderment, then brought her dainty hands around the Sapphire Crystal, lifting it over her head. "Mercury Crystal Power, make up!
"Mars Crystal Power, make up!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power, make up!"
"Venus Crystal Power, make up!"
Serenity and Helios watched in wonderment as flashes of bright light and visions danced before their eyes in a dazzling array. The girls appeared as goddesses for moments in between, with the fury and power of their deities fused within them.
Then, the light receded, and they stood before their princess and her priest.
Each was garbed in a short skirt, the same color as her crystal, with bows in a contrasting color. The part that distinguished the girls as what they were, the sailor collar, matched their skirts in color. Each was decorated with various jewellery and trinkets, and each held a new weapon in their hands. Mercury held a blue harp; Mars, a bow with a quiver of arrows; Jupiter, a golden rod; and Venus, a chain of hearts.
Helios smiled. "Serenity...the girls have become the Sailor Soldiers of legend."
The door of the battered transport fell open, and Sailor Uranus fell out, choking up a gout of blood as she fell to the ground. Her legs were badly scratched and scarred, pieces of her sailor uniform torn away. Her body was racked with coughs as she lay on the soft green ground before her.
A few moments later, Sailor Neptune came stumbling after her, preceded by the Silver Crystal, glowing between the two. One of her eyes was blue and readily swelling shut, and she, too, had her share of battle scars. She was crying softly, her face buried in her gloved hands.
As the girls had emerged from the palace, they had not been greeted by a pretty sight. The Moon Kingdom was in shambles, the lower levels of the palace becoming completely demolished by the opposing forces. They had to fight several forces, at the same time dodging pillars that collapsed, sometimes getting trapped under one. Neptune fell through a glass window and had pieces of glass stuck in her leg, which she picked out, eyes staring blankly as her sister held off the offending enemies.
As they passed the room in which their mother had spent her final moments, Neptune had advanced towards it, but Uranus had pulled her away, shaking her head.
But nothing prevented them from seeing their dead father, splayed out on the second-floor balcony of his once-grand ballroom. He lay in a pool of blood, his eyes open but unseeing, his head partially cracked open and a wicked-looking dagger sticking out of his chest. His body was partially charred, suggesting that some of the meaner forces had burned it in glee.
Neptune had burst into tears on the spot, and Uranus had taken to a fit of vomiting.
They stumbled out of the palace, desperately trying to find a way off of the Moon. The kingdom was crumbling around them. No Lunar soldiers stood alive. The golden-suited Elysian forces were celebrating their triumph over their hated, the Moon.
But the cold-hearted Erebese were not content to see the Lunar forces dead, the king fallen. Using their black magic, they were slowly destroying the palace, causing it to fall in pieces. Pillars fell, verandas collapsed, and Uranus had to guide her sister out of the way of a crushed statue that came crashing their way.
Neptune was distracted in her grief, but Uranus had surveyed the area. In the midst of the Elysian's forces, a man stood proudly, dressed regally, gazing at the palace. His jet-black hair whipped in the wind; his cold, dark blue eyes focused on the palace. Slowly, over his face, his lips curved into a wicked smile.
A flicker of recognition flashed in Uranus's brain...this was the man, one of the few men, who had danced with her at her wedding many months ago. But he was different then. His look...his eyes. Once those eyes had been bright blue, the same colors as the oceans below. But now they were dark, like the depths of midnight.
Neptune had tugged on her sister's arm, and the two of them wandered away before any of the force could see them, trying to find a ship to fly off the planet with. They had walked for miles before coming to an old spaceport, used for the infrequent flights from Earth to Moon and back, and found a battered old transport. Jumping in, Uranus had taken a crash course in flying it around the sky before they finally rocketed out of the atmosphere and had a very unpleasant ride to the Earth.
They were finally here, in the middle of a grassy green meadow, but Uranus was too exhausted to go on – having held her sorrow in until it was safe to let it out – and Neptune was drained from the sights she had seen.
"Oh...god..." Neptune sobbed into her hands, her wails become loud. Her tiara flickered, then went dead; her clothes returned to the dress she had been wearing before she transformed. She sat hard into the grass, crying to herself. "I can't...I can't...there's no way I can..."
Diana pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, panting, and realized that she, too, was wearing her regular clothes. She shook her head, then retracted to sit on her knees. "We have to get this crystal to Serenity."
Trivia lifted her head from her hands. "Oh dear lords," she said. "Serenity...she doesn't know. She didn't see..."
"No." Diana's voice was bitter. "She was protected. Once again."
Trivia shook her head, then placed a hand on her sister's arm. "Don't think like that," she said, wiping her tears with her other hand. "She has to be. Her heart must remain pure...so she can use the crystal."
Diana nodded, then looked down at her legs. Where bleeding cuts had once been, were now red scars staring at her.
She looked at the crystal.
"It's healing us," she said. "That's why we...detransformed, I suppose."
Trivia nodded and stared at the crystal again. "We should retransform ourselves, then, and get to Serenity."
"How will we find her?"
Trivia shrugged. "I suppose...the crystal will lead us."
Serenity smiled, dumbfounded, at her friends. The 'drastic changes' they had spoken of seemed to somewhat take place. Sailor Mars's hair had become completely crimson, and her eyes flashed the same every now and then. Sailor Jupiter's brown hair was now streaked with green. The other two girls were relatively unchanged as far as major features, but all four of them looked determined and ready.
"Are you ready...Sailor Soldiers?" she whispered.
"Yes." It was Sailor Venus who spoke, stepping in front of the other three girls. "We are ready...lead us to Beryl's palace."
"Wait."
The four Sailor Soldiers looked over Serenity's head towards the voice, but Serenity whipped around in shock. Advancing behind her, unsteady but surely, were her two sisters.
"Trivia! Diana!" Serenity ran for them, throwing her arms about one, then the other. "Oh my god...how did you get here? What's going on?" Her face darkened. "Is there...trouble?"
The girls said nothing.
Serenity regarded them again, and realized that they were not exactly as she left them. Instead, they wore outfits much like the four Sailor Soldiers she had recently rounded up, except in aqua and navy.
"How...but you...you are Sailor Soldiers, too?"
Sailors Uranus and Neptune nodded, smiling briefly. "Mother told us. She gave us scrolls that revealed...our powers to us." They spoke nothing of their true parentage.
Serenity's eyes brightened. "How is Mother?"
Neptune looked away, and Uranus stared at her sister gravely. "She's...gone, Serenity."
Serenity's eyes widened. "Gone?"
"Yes." Neptune looked back at her sister. "Everything's gone. Mama, Papa, the palace, the kingdom. Orcas, Somnus. Everything. The Erebese came and wiped everything out."
Serenity bent her head into her hands and wept.
"And the Elysian." Uranus narrowed her eyes, remembering the proud stance of the solitary soldier.
"The Elysian?" Helios stepped forward. "But that cannot be! I am of the Elysian, and although my king has never been quite fond of the Moon Kingdom, he would never participate in an open attack."
"Well, you don't know your king very well," Sailor Neptune said bitterly. "The Elysian were certainly there, celebrating as our palace walls fell."
"Beryl," Serenity said, raising her tear-stained face. "It has to be her. She's taken control of everything, and she must have taken control of the Elysian forces, too! Oh, no..."
"Don't despair, Queen Serenity," said Sailor Mercury, laying a hand on her princess's shoulder. "We're empowered now. And we will avenge your kingdom. Don't worry...we will defeat Beryl and the dark forces."
"And you can help them." Slowly Neptune and Uranus reached behind them and pulled forth a force, thrusting it before them. It was a crystal, silver in color, glittering brightly.
Sailor Venus gasped. "The Great Crystal," she whispered.
"Yes...the Silver Crystal," said Sailor Uranus. She turned her gaze to Serenity. "It is yours."
Sailor Neptune nodded, and gave the crystal a nudge towards its true holder. "Mother said you would know what to do when it came to you."
Serenity watched as the Silver Crystal wobbled towards her, coming to a stop in front of her. It was so much brighter than the other girls' crystals, and heat radiated from it. Tentatively, she rose her hands around it, feeling its power.
Suddenly, she set her face in resolution. Yes, her mother was right. She knew exactly what to do.
With a surge of power, she raised the crystal high above her head, turning her crystal blue eyes to the heavens.
"Moon Crystal Power, make up!"