"Sailor Angel and Sailor Phosphora: The Fight Against Catastrophe"
Chapter Twenty-Six
By Angel Sentier and M'Lila Cronk
Eternal Sailor Moon gazed down at the supplicated former senshi before her, then at the friends around her, uncertain.
After a moment, Yuki stepped from the doorframe into the hallway and knelt to one knee before the princess.
"I have forgiven her," he said.
Taking a leaf from his book, Phosphora also knelt, laying her swords on the floor before her. "I forgive her."
After Phosphora, Fighter grabbed her compatriots and knelt as well. "We forgive her." She received sideways looks from Maker and Healer. No doubt they were getting a little tired of being spoken for, but they said nothing, so what Fighter had said in this instance must be true.
Nebula also knelt beside her cousin. "I don't really know you... But I forgive you!" she said with a smile.
The rest of the Warriors followed suit after Nebula, with Pandora taking the lead. Slowly, all of the senshi knelt before Eternal Sailor Moon and forgave Celeste. Moon glanced up at Tuxedo Mask, who nodded, before she bent down and helped Celeste back to her feet.
"Of course you're forgiven," she said, smiling gently. "You're our friend."
As Celeste embraced the moon princess, a tear slipped from Eternal Sailor Moon's eye. Suddenly, the crystal-like droplet began to shine with a bright white light. As it did so, answering silver light began to emanate from the Crystal in Moon's locket.
Tuxedo Mask placed one hand to his heart as a soft golden glow pulsed from within his chest. "The Golden Crystal," he whispered.
Yuki looked down at his wrist to see that the Aqua Crystal was pulsing with the same intense light as the other two. "What's happening?" he asked.
Before anyone could attempt to answer him, everyone in the hallway disappeared into thin air in a flash of blinding light.
-------------------------------------------
When everyone could see again, they were in an unfamiliar place. It seemed to be some kind of palace, reminiscent of the Moon Kingdom with it's abundance of white marble and towering pillars, but there were about a dozen statues surrounding the hall that were completely new to all of them.
Eternal Sailor Venus approached one of them and read from the silver plaque affixed to the pillar. "'Amara - Sailor Angel, 976 B.C.'" She looked at the statue of the young girl and noted the wings, fuku, and tiara. "There were senshi all the way back then? And I thought Celeste was Sailor Angel..."
Neptune read from another plaque on a statue of a different girl. "Here's another one. 'Claire - Sailor Angel, 11 A.D.'"
"I think all of these statues represent someone who was Sailor Angel at one point," said Mars. "'Mabel - Sailor Angel, 1098.'"
"There's just about a new one for every century," noted Uranus.
"Except for this one," said Jupiter.
"That's Celeste," said Phosphora.
"Why is it that a new Messenger of Danger is born when the old one dies, while we're reincarnated each time we die?" asked Healer.
"That's morbid!" exclaimed Mars.
"It's a valid question," said Pluto. "There are reasons for each time we've been reincarnated. And the reason why a new Messenger must be born is because they are created using the power of the Holy Crystal. In essence, they have no true soul, so they can't be reincarnated."
"No soul?" repeated Moon, her eyes large. "How sad!"
Warrior Wind sniffed, but said nothing. She could be rebuilt if something ever happened to her.
"This one looks like the one who came to Kinmokusei," said Nebula, pointing at the statue of Amara.
"Now that you mention it, this one looks like the spirit that came to Jupiter," said Sol, looking at the figure of Claire. One by one, the other Warriors mentioned similar sentiments about the other statues. "What's all this about? Where are we?"
Apparently, that was the magic question, because another bright light flashed at the center of the circular room. When it faded somewhat, everyone could see a large white crystal suspended above a tall dais. It spun slowly on its own, shining brighter than any star.
"Thou art within the Sky Castle," rumbled a majestic voice that seemed to come from inside the crystal.
Phosphora gasped. "I thought no one was allowed here but Celeste!" she said.
"Ye speak the truth," said the Crystal. "Yon Messenger has been forgiven, purged from the darkness by the ultimate power. Thy sacred items called to me from beyond."
"What'd it say?" whispered Venus to Mars.
"Celeste is on our side again and apparently, the Crystals' combined powers were what brought us here."
"Oh..."
"So, why are we here?" asked Phosphora.
"To revive the Messenger."
"Revive her?" She looked back to see Celeste slumped on the ground, forgotten, unmoving. "Celeste!" She went to her friend and knelt beside her. She remained motionless, even when Phosphora shook her shoulder gently.
"A new Messenger should have been born after Celeste gave up her power," said Pluto.
"Ye speak the truth," the Crystal said again. "However, the Messenger possesses a gift the others didst not; God, in his mystery, hath blessed her with a true soul which granteth her the ability to love and to be reborn."
All eyes drifted to Celeste's prone form, the only Messenger in history with a soul.
"Ye must awaken within her a new power," continued the Crystal.
The Holy Crystal's light brightened again and centered this time on Celeste. Slowly, her body began to rise from the floor and into the air. Again, the three other Crystals began to pulse with the same intensity.
"Moon Crystal Power!" cried Eternal Sailor Moon, somehow knowing what to do.
"Earth Crystal Power!" said Tuxedo Mask, following her lead.
"Mercury Crystal Power!" said Yuki.
The light from the three Crystals combined with the white hot light of the Holy Crystal and blinded the senshi from seeing Celeste for a moment. When the light faded, the Holy Crystal had disappeared from the dais and in its place stood... Super Sailor Angel. Her silver and white fuku had small changes, much like those of the other senshi after their Super power-up, and her wings had gotten slightly larger. In her hand she carried a long staff topped by what looked like a smaller version of the Holy Crystal, with tiny wings spread out on either side. She smiled down at them.
"My friends," she said. "I'm back."
To be continued...
