Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from "CardCaptor Sakura". They are all owned by the ladies of CLAMP who are much more talented than I. (smile) I also do not own anyone from "Sailor Moon". They are all owned by Takeuchi Naoko whose vision will live eternally. (smile) (Much to Elflina's dismay...) All other characters are my own. Feel free to steal them.
I do not hold chapters ransom for reviews, but I sure appreciate compliments, constructive criticism, and grammatical corrections. So if you feel like it, please press that little review button, and let me know what you think.
Six reviews? Six? Is that a new record for me? I think it is. Hurray! And even if it is not, Hurray! (grin) Greetings to Taeniaea, yaoifanboy, aserene, Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85, and Mangaka-chan. Oh, and another first (for me) reviewer, I think. Welcome animegurl709! I'm glad you are all still happy with me. This chapter is a short one, however. Gomen, but it seemed a natural place to break it.
I had a question as to what Card goes with which Asteroid Senshi. In case some of you missed the transformation descriptions I put in "The Sleeper", here you go: 1) Flower/Illusion is Hallucination is Ceres (whose transformation includes flower petals, and who's attack is illusion/hallucination based), Dash/Storm is Distraction is Juno ( who is closest to Jupiter, which is where I got Storm, and quick so I chose Dash, and is Distraction because that is one thing she tries to achieve with her vines), Rain/Maze is Optical Illusion is Pallas (who has rain in her transformation and as an attack, is good at puzzles and mazes, and rain can cause optical illusions... Okay, a little bit of a stretch but...), and Change/Shadow is Daydream is Vesta (who creates her dream beasts from shadows). In my world, the girls have two core powers: shielding and illusions, thus their confidence about holding off Necro if they worked together and concentrated on shielding. Their illusion powers have not really come to the forefront yet as they have not powered up at all. Hope that helps!
And now, Enjoy! - Raya
Moonlit Sakura
Chapter 34 – The Journey to Crystal Tokyo, Part II: Recriminations, Encouragement, and Beginning Again
Queen Fey made an irritable sound as she paced around her room once more. 'Intolerable! How long are they going to keep me here!' she fumed to herself. 'They know I have a job to do. In fact, they should be helping me with it, not hindering me. I'm perfectly fine! I don't need to be kept cooped up anymore!'
As she passed the door leading out of the room, she slapped her hand against it in frustration. A soft beep and a slight whooshing sound made her stop mid turn and look over her shoulder at it. Her eyes widened as she realized that it had opened slightly.
She held her breath as she cautiously poked her grey head out into the hallway beyond. A quick glance in both directions showed that no one was around. Carefully, she eased her way out. "Piika – Paaka – Pot," she said softly using an old nursery rhyme to pick a direction. "Papa long sought, A way or three for dels, To bring Mama dreaming bells." Her eyes narrowed as she studied the hallway in the direction selected, and then she turned to walk quickly and quietly the opposite way.
Hidden in the shadows, a woman with short red hair watched her go. Her midnight blue suit blended with the darkness. Even its silver embroidery was muted. 'I'm going to get in trouble for this,' she thought to herself a little uneasily. 'But, I can't leave Necro to face them all alone. My little brother is good, but he's not that good." Queen Yeti shivered a little as she remembered the pain of the bright, cleansing light. 'He's not that good.'
"Ceres," Serenity said quietly. Slowly, her daughter's lead bodyguard raised her head to look at her. "Ceres, what happened?"
"Um… Well… You see…," the younger senshi said nervously, refusing to meet her queen's eyes. "We decided to attack the enemy while he was off-guard."
"He?" Super Sailor Neptune asked from across the circle. "You mean the orange haired man, not the grey haired woman?"
"King Necro," Serenity said as Sailor Ceres nodded. "The woman was apparently named Queen Fey." The four younger senshi blinked at her in surprise.
"Wait," Sailor Pallas called from her position in front of Super Sailor Uranus and Super Sailor Neptune. "King Necro? Queen Fey? Are they part of the Empress' Dark Court, too? Like Queen Yeti, King Arashi, and the others?"
"They have names?" Sailor Juno asked simultaneously in surprise.
"Of course they have names," Super Sailor Mars snorted. "There're four things an enemy almost always has: power, a name, a plan, and friends."
"Oh, right, of course," Sailor Juno mumbled flushing a little with embarrassment.
"Mars," Serenity chided with a shake of her head. Her friend turned to look at her and smiled slightly with a shrug. The queen rolled her eyes and turned to look across the circle at Pallas. "Yes, Pallas. They do seem to be a part of that same Court. Or at least, that's what King Necro told me when he introduced himself."
She turned to look at Sailor Ceres again. "So, you went to attack him instead of staying at the Palace and defending Small Lady?" she asked, knowing in her heart that she was wrong, but wishing she was right. As Sailor Ceres mutely shook her head, she softly sighed her disappointment.
"No, ma'am. We all went," Sailor Ceres said tentatively. Suddenly, she looked up with pleading eyes. "He was cornered. Off balance. And Vital-san said that he hadn't had a chance to recharge his magical energies. It seemed like the perfect time to take the fight to him."
She paused to give the queen a chance to say something, but everyone was quiet. She swallowed, and then looked at Super Sailor Venus instead. Somehow, it was easier to meet her leader's understanding baby blue eyes rather than the queen's patient, anxious cerulean blue or the king's worried midnight blue. "Pallas-chan also noticed that Sailor Moon's attacks always seem to get through. So, we decided that the four of us would concentrate strictly on shielding, while she attacked him."
Super Sailor Venus glanced at Serenity out of the corner of her eye, and then nodded. "It sounds like a fairly reasonable plan," she said quietly. "The four of you were trained to do just that, and if her attacks were getting through…"
"Yes," Sailor Ceres said as her medium pink eyes brightened. They dimmed again almost immediately. "Unfortunately, he was still stronger than we thought." She stared bitterly at her hands for a moment. "Perhaps… Perhaps if it had been you and Sailor Mars and the others… We just weren't strong enough."
Sailor Juno and Sailor Vesta clenched their fists in anger and a little shame. Sailor Juno looked down at her feet again, while Sailor Vesta glared across the circle into the pastel mists that surrounded them. Sailor Pallas looked sadly at her king and queen, and then hung her head as well.
"Did you do your best?" Super Sailor Mars asked softly. The girls nodded slightly, still refusing to look at them.
"Did you give everything you had?" Super Sailor Jupiter asked after a breath of silence in a gentle voice. Again the girls nodded, too choked up to respond verbally.
"More than you ever thought you could?" Super Sailor Mercury asked gently after another small silence. The girls did not respond except to tighten their expressions. Sakura and her friends silently studied their expressions which said it wasn't enough, could never be enough.
"So much, that the pain from his attacks became part of the light?" Super Sailor Venus asked after another small silence, her voice full of understanding.
As the girls raised their heads and turned to look at her in surprise, the leader of the senshi nodded. "If you gave that much, then you could have done no more. Good job, girls."
"But…," Sailor Juno began to protest.
Super Sailor Mars interrupted her. "We've been there, Juno," she said gently, her voice also full of understanding. "We know what you did. And how you feel right now. Inadequate. Frustrated because you weren't strong enough to last just a few minutes longer. Worried sick about what will happen to your friend now. Scared that your best just wasn't good enough." As the younger girls all turned to look at her, she nodded and gave them a serious smile.
"Oh yes, we've been there," Super Sailor Jupiter said, making the girls turn to look at her. "And no matter how much you power up, you will always feel the same way when you fail." She turned, and looked at Serenity. "And somehow, they always forgive you and say that you did more than enough," she added as her emerald eyes caught Serenity's blue ones. They stared at each other for a few moments, and then she looked back at the girls again. "Venus is right. Good job, girls." King Endymion, Serenity, and the remaining senshi nodded their agreement. Slowly, the younger girls relaxed.
"Um…," Sakura said tentatively as the tension in the middle circles began to fade. She blushed a little as the senshi turned their attention towards her as if suddenly remembering that they were not alone. "If… If I heard right, you have a friend who may be in trouble?"
The senshi in front of her nodded. Behind her, Super Sailor Uranus shifted impatiently. Super Sailor Neptune and Super Sailor Saturn tightened their grips slightly in an attempt to calm her. Super Sailor Pluto and Super Sailor Jupiter sent her understanding looks and asked silently with their eyes for her patience a little longer.
"Yes, Kinomoto-san. I mean, Sakura-san," Super Sailor Mercury replied speaking for her group. "It sounds as if she might be in a lot of danger right now. In fact, she may appear here at any moment. Can you handle it if that happens?"
Slowly, Sakura shook her head. "She's the Princess, right? The one with long pink hair?" As Super Sailor Mercury blinked at her in surprise, Sakura nodded. "I saw her in my dream… She won't be banished quiet so easily. But we have to hurry. We have to protect her." She turned to look at her friends. "Remember? Protect the Princess and the Cards. That's how we stop him."
As Yue, Shaoran, and Tomoyo nodded, Cerberus fluttered his left wing and rumbled. "Let's get going then. What are we waiting for?"
Sakura smiled and nodded. "Right. Let's go! Mercury-san?"
Super Sailor Mercury nodded and turned back to her computer. "That way," she said pointing down and to the left. Her blue aura flared into existence around her as she began to lead the way. Around her, the circles of friends glowed gently with power as they came with her.
The four youngest senshi looked around a little in puzzlement, and then nodded to themselves. They turned to face the center circle and stretched their hands out as if to form a circle of their own. Quickly, they powered up as best they could and joined in the effort.