After requests from all of two people another chapter has been posted. I'd like to say thanks to those who have submitted reviews (myself excluded). The original ending for the story has undergone a revision so I was forced to have a look at the planned chapters and make some alterations so I could steer toward the new ending. In any case I'm sure most of you just skip this bit so all the usual disclaimers apply etc.
A Second Destiny
Chapter 6: Kingdoms at war
Serena finally lifts her head. She is exhausted. Her eyes are swollen from crying too hard. An hour has passed, maybe two. The tremors are becoming stronger and more frequent. From time to time she feels a sharp pain in her forehead which fades so fast she's left wondering if the pain is real or imagined.
"What would the others say if they could see me here now?" Serena wonders to herself. "Rei would give me such an earful." She could already imagine the scene, Rei shouting at her about her incompetence as a leader. To her surprise she actually laughed a little at the image. "I really miss you guys."
If she closed her eyes she could almost hear them. "What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to be here to stop Queen Beryl not sit moping around chained up in here Serena!"
"Yeah! You know what it means to be a Sailor Scout. You never give up no matter how hard it gets."
"She's right girlfriend. You're the Moon Princess you're the only one who can do this. The future of our world depends on you."
"Come on Serena. There's always a way. You need to learn to slow down and look at the situation."
Her friends had said that they would always be with her. They had died for her and she couldn't let that be for nothing. She had to think her way out if she was to have any chance of escape.
She takes a good look at her surroundings. The chamber was carved into some sort of rock and was fairly small, which made sense for a prison cell. There was a barred door of some sort. The gaps were narrow but she thought she might just be able to squeeze through.
That was a problem for later. Whether or not she could get out through the door was irrelevant unless she could get herself off of the wall. There was a large iron loop stuck into the wall just above her head. Through this loop ran a length of heavy chain around three feet long. The chain had manacles at each end and these were obviously attached to her wrists.
She takes a closer look at the manacles. They were bulky iron things with no obvious locking mechanism. She thought her hands were small enough to just slide the manacles off. They certainly looked like they would fit through the large iron loop. If she could get just one hand free she could slide the whole thing through and at least be able to move away from the wall. Beyond that she didn't really have much of a clue, but her plan was enough to be getting on with for the time being.
She looks at her hands for a few moments and decides on her right hand. She takes a few deep steadying breaths, bunches her fingers together and pulls down hard. The pain is immediate as the manacle slides a short way up her hand to just before her knuckles. She pulls harder her body trembling with the effort, ignoring the worsening pain and feels the ring slip a fraction of an inch further. She opens one eye to see what was left and her heart lifts slightly. There was only an eight of an inch left, perhaps less. She increases the pressure trying to force her fingers still closer together. The pain is now close to what she is no longer bear and a part of her mind wonders dimly if her wrist would fracture before she got this damn thing off. She lets out a scream of mingled pain and effort and pulls downwards with all her might. Then finally she lets up sobbing helplessly as she lets the ring slide back to her wrist. It was hopeless. She had stopped not because it hurt, but because she knew she had pulled with all the strength her body could provide and it hadn't been enough. The worst part was by how small a margin she had failed. As little as a sixteenth of an inch prevented her from freeing that last little ridge of bone that held her here
"Serena you can' wimp out and give up at the first hurdle just because it hurts a little. Maybe there's another way to get down." Rei's voice sounds so clearly that Serena stops crying to look around. She sees the iron ring above her and her brow furrows in thought. Perhaps she could pull the loop from the wall. It looked pretty worn. She would still have a heavy iron loop to carry around and her hands would still be chained together but she would deal with that when the time came.
She turns to face the wall crossing the chain in the process. She takes a good hold of the loop and tugs hard against it.
She knows that this plan won't work from the first tug. No matter what the loop looks like it is solidly built into the wall and she can't move it in the slightest. Another tremor, the most violent yet causes her to lose her footing and she falls, spinning around with the chains and banging her head painfully against the wall.
Time is clearly running out. There has to be a way to get out of here. Somehow or another she needs to get this manacle off of her hand. A lubricant might make the difference. Blood would do, if she could get hold of something sharp she might be able to…
"Stop Serena!" That was definitely Ami's voice "Don't you think you're going about this the wrong way? There has to be a way that won't weaken you still further."
"What is it!" She cries out in frustration. "They took my transformation broach and the Crystal. I don't have anything that would help. I…" She stops mid sentence and reaches for her pockets. By raising one arm above her head she can just about reach the side pocket of her coat. Her fingers close around a familiar object and with a wave of relief that leaves her feeling faint she pulls out the Luna Disguise Pen. She's never used it in this way before and there is no guarantee it will work now, but she has to try.
"Disguise Power! Please turn me into a little kid or something." Miraculously she feels the changes take place. Her hands slip easily through the manacles and she lands in a heap on the floor. She looks down to see that the pen has transformed her into a younger version of herself. Around about seven years old or so.
Still checking her hands every few seconds as though unable to believe she's really free, Serena crosses her cell and inspects the door. The gaps between the bars are extremely narrow. Gingerly she sticks her head against the bars at a point only a few inches from the ground and pushes forward. By twisting onto her side as she goes, she is able to get her head through the bars. Over the course of five minutes she slowly forces her shoulders and upper body through the bars. With a horizontal bar between her body and the ground her position is uncomfortable to the point of being painful, but her determination to escape keeps her moving regardless. Lying as flat as she can she rests for a few moments.
"Ok then Serena." She thinks to herself "You never believed you'd ever get this far. Question is what do you plan on doing next?" She thinks about this for a while. Without being able to transform into Sailor Moon her ability to fight was limited. Well ok it wasn't as if she had done a great deal against Darien, or Endiomon as he was known here, but she had to try.
The Silver Crystal was the key. She had to get that back at all costs. Her friends had died to protect her and the crystal. The forces of the Dark Kingdom had been set on finding her stealing the crystal since she had first found it, and before that there had been the fight to obtain the rainbow crystals.
Another tremor felt through the ground shakes her out of her thoughts. Time was running out fast. She began dragging the rest of her body through the bars. There was a frightening moment where she believed she was stuck halfway. She pulls hard wriggling as she goes and her butt finally slips through the gap. She gets to her feet in the passage and cancels her disguise. Her head still hurts from being smacked into the wall. If anything the pain was getting sharper rather than duller as time went on.
Without knowing exactly why she feels as though she is being pulled to the left. The sensation is warm and comforting; it reminds her faintly of home.
"It's the Silver Crystal." She realises. "It must be calling to me as heir of the Moon Kingdom." She walks slowly hugging the walls and sticking to the shadows. She can almost feel the presence of the crystal in her mind like a hook guiding her forward. Twice she is forced to duck into an alcove squeezing her eyes shut as footsteps pass by her.
Up ahead there is a flickering light. Serena pauses frowning. The warm presence in her head is it is overshadowed by a new force, something far darker.
Creeping up to the cavern entrance Serena peers in and freezes. There is a large structure at the far end of the chamber which looks something out of a nightmare. Sort of like a badly distorted skull. A large glass basin filled with liquid makes up the bottom of the structure. Inside is something dark and fluid that resembles liquid smoke. On an alter before the structure is the Crescent moon wand and the Silver Crystal. To Serena's shock and horror Queen Beryl stands over the wand pouring dark energy onto the Crystal. Serena watches for a few moments, hypnotised by the way waves of darkness emanating from Beryl's hands break against the Crystal's light. Serena can feel the forces struggling against each other, the way the energy of the Silver Crystal is slowly but surely changing and flowing into the structure. By her side kneels Prince Endimion. He looks up into her face with an expression of complete devotion.
"This is it." Serena thinks grimly. In all her life she has never known a determination like this. She knew she couldn't possibly get to the crystal with both of them there, but for the sake of the world, her friends, her Darien. She was going to get that crystal or die trying.
Summoning more courage than she thought possible Serena charges forward. The focus of the thing in the basin turns to her, shocked by her unexpected appearance Beryl's first attack is wild and shatters the wall to the left.
"Endimion stop her. Kill her if need be!" Beryl screams. She flings another bolt of energy this time catching Serena a glancing hit.
She screams with pain as the dark energy burns her but doesn't break stride. "I don't care what happens to me anymore. I'm not going to let you win you bitch!" She thinks savagely.
A sudden motion beside her catches her attention. Serena looks up in time to see Endimion running at her. He draws his sword and leaps into the air. She only has a few feet to go. She lowers her head and runs harder.
The rose flies through the air with deadly accuracy. It find's its mark striking her in the middle of the back, blood sprays from her mouth and she stumbles her run becoming clumsy. There was no pain, only a sudden, terrible weariness which threatened to overwhelm her. Her vision was fading and she could hear Beryl's laughter coming from far away. Willpower alone carries her the last few steps onto the alter. She falls forward onto the wand cradling it to herself in a last effort to keep the Silver Crystal away from Beryl.
A blinding flash of brilliant energy comes from the Crystal, filling the chamber and everything in it. Queen Beryl screams as the searing light burns into her, her form falling apart as a massive surge of cleansing energy destroys her body. Endimion is thrown back against a support pillar which crumbles and he slumps to the ground.
Serena stands up slowly the pain gone, the rose in her back burned to nothing by the light. Her clothes vanish to be replaced with a flowing white dress. The symbol of a crescent moon glows brightly on her forehead. The wand floats to her hand and she stands on the alter, surrounded by a nimbus of bright light.
"GREETINGS PRINCESS SERENITY. WE MEET AGAIN. I AM QUEEN METALLIA RULAR OF THE DARK KINGDOM."
Serenity's eyes snap into focus. When she speaks her voice is cold with fury. "I remember. You are going to pay for what you have done to the Moon Kingdom."
"I THINK NOT PRINCESS." Metallia's voice is utterly unafraid. "ENDIMION KILL HER AND BRING THE SILVER CRYSTAL TO ME."
Finally Chapter 6 complete. That took a lot longer than I thought it would. A pretty full social calendar didn't help matters any. Well I hope most people who stumble across this story are enjoying it. Next chapter answers a couple of questions for those who have been asking. Chapter 7 is intended for posting in the middle of the week. Please keep the comments coming and I'll be back with the next chapter as soon as I finish it.
