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.
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Five reviews! Oh, thank you all so much. Including one first time (for me) reviewer. And a very enthusiastic one at that, hahaha. Welcome to xo Concrete Angel ox. Careful, or you'll give me a swelled head, hahaha. And thanks and greetings to yaoifanboy, Mangaka-chan (good luck with organic!), Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85, and aserene!
It's time to return to that world between worlds... Enjoy, minna! - Raya
Moonlit Sakura
Chapter 37 – The Journey to Crystal Tokyo, Part III: The Ethereal Palace
Super Sailor Mercury led her friends and comrades on a convoluted path through the mysterious, pastel colored mist. Every now and then, off in the distance, someone would catch a glimpse of what appeared to be another universe or world. The glimpses faded quickly, though, so they were never quite sure of what they saw.
"Okay, here comes another power dip," Super Sailor Mercury called as they paused, sounding a little tired. "We turn right and go straight up, while our power falls down two percent. We will hold that for about ten seconds, and then there's a very big spike." She paused. "This is where my data ends. After this big spike is the enormous dip that overloaded my data."
A sudden thought occurred to her, and she turned to look at Sailor Pallas. "You didn't happen to bring a copy of the data from your end, did you?" she asked hopefully.
Sailor Pallas looked at her blankly for a moment, and then shook her head with a chagrined expression. Super Sailor Mercury sagged with disappointment.
"Sorry," the younger senshi said softly. "I didn't even think of it. We were in a hurry to get to the enemy before he could regain any of his strength."
"Fat lot of good that did us," Sailor Juno mumbled irritably, tired and still smarting over her loss.
"I took the time to do a quick check on the effective attacks, but that was about it," Sailor Pallas continued, ignoring her friend. "That was when I noticed that Lady-chan's attacks were the most effective."
"I wonder why that is…" Super Sailor Venus said reflectively.
"Why?" Sailor Ceres asked in surprise, looking over her shoulder. "Because she's the Princess, of course. She's the most powerful of us after Neo-Queen Serenity-sama and King Endymion-sama."
Super Sailor Venus shook her head. "That seems logical, but… No. Unless she's using the power of her Crystal, she's only about as powerful as one of us. Uranus and the others are a little more powerful, but they couldn't get through either."
"We took one out," Super Sailor Uranus called. "And almost got another. I'd say we're a lot more powerful than you."
Yue watched as Super Sailor Venus swung her hair forward and then tossed it back over her shoulder. "You just got lucky," the Senshi of Beauty said with a teasing glint in her eyes. Super Sailor Neptune chuckled softly and tightened her grip on her lover's hand as Super Sailor Uranus narrowed her eyes and began to reply.
"She's probably just his Achilles'," Super Sailor Jupiter interjected quickly as she turned and glared significantly at her leader. Super Sailor Venus just grinned back impishly.
"Achilles? What do you mean?" Sailor Vesta called from across the circle.
"Isn't that a part of your leg?" Sakura asked, sounding confused, as Super Sailor Jupiter started to respond.
"Almost," Tomoyo replied, inadvertently cutting the Senshi of Protection off again. Super Sailor Jupiter sighed and gave up as the dark haired girl continued. "It's a tendon that runs between your calf and your heel. But what Jupiter-san was referring to was an old Greek hero named Achilles. He lived during the Trojan War, and supposedly he was completely invulnerable except for one heel. That is where it got its name."
"Hu-e? But… But… If she is his Achilles…" Sakura said looking even more confused.
"That means she's vulnerable, and he's… he's…" Sailor Ceres said sounding just as confused.
"Oh, no, no!" Tomoyo replied, blinking in surprise as she looked back and forth between the two girls. "It's a saying. The Achilles' Heel is a weak point."
"But, how can she be his weak point?" Sailor Juno cried. "She's not a part of him! She's not even on his side!" Tomoyo didn't respond immediately confused by the confusion.
"No, she's not," Super Sailor Jupiter agreed, glad to finally get a word in edgewise. "She's on our side. But she can hit his weak spot, if you will. Just like… Remember the grey-haired woman?"
"Queen Fey," Super Sailor Neptune interjected with a smile.
"Yeah, her. Well, her Achilles' Heel was the fact that she had to be able to see her target in order to control it. The only one of us who could break her control was Mercury. She used her Bubble Spray to completely fog up the area so Queen Fey couldn't see," Super Sailor Jupiter said as she looked around the inner circles. "Apparently, something about this guy's magic…"
"King Necro," Super Sailor Neptune interjected again. She blinked innocently at Super Sailor Jupiter when the younger senshi gave her a measuring look.
"Yeah, him. Apparently, his shields are somehow vulnerable to Moon's attacks. So, she's his Achilles'," Super Sailor Jupiter said as she turned back to her audience.
"Or his Paris," Super Sailor Mercury said unthinkingly as she typed a few commands into her computer with an intent expression.
"Paris? The capital of France?" Sailor Vesta asked sounding confused again.
"No, Paris was another hero of the Trojan War," Tomoyo replied quickly. "He was the one who killed Achilles by shooting an arrow into his heel."
"I'm confused," Serenity said as she turned to look at King Endymion. "What do Paris, Greeks, and warriors have to do with Small Lady?" Her face lit up for a moment. "Ah! Celeste is from Paris, and Pallas is from Athens which is in Greece, and they are both warriors who protect Small Lady!" she exclaimed.
Her friends stared at her blankly for a moment. "That… That does make sense…" Super Sailor Venus said weakly.
"Completely, and totally not what we were talking about, but…," Super Sailor Mars said with mystified agreement.
"Not quite, Serenity-san," Super Sailor Mercury called calmly out of the middle as she glanced up from her computer. "But that was a good guess," she added quickly as she saw Serenity's face fall. She paused and blinked as she caught the teasing glint in her friend's blue eyes. "I'll explain it to you later if you haven't figured it out," she added, laughing silently to herself as she realized that Serenity was just teasing them all.
"In the meantime, if we've all caught our breath, then I think it's time to go." The Senshi of Wisdom looked around the circles, catching everyone's eyes. Each of them nodded their readiness back to her. Taking a deep breath, she turned to the proper direction, made one final cross-check on her computer, and led the way up. Her hands clenched tightly on the computer as her brain tried to figure out what to do once they came to the end of the data.
"Drop," she called as the tracker on the computer began to fall. "Drop… Pluto, your power is too high… There… Drop… Easy, Serenity-san, too low… Drop… Come down a hair more next time, Li-san… Drop…" Around her, expressions began to become tight and strained as everyone concentrated fiercely on their power control. "Energy spike in ten. Give it everything you've got. I'll warn you back…" she called as the marker approached the junction. "On five. Straight down. Three. Two. One. Power dive!"
The pastel mist was lit by an incandescent light as the group gave everything they had to the dive. A sudden shrieking sound startled them. As they opened their eyes and looked below them, Serenity, Super Sailor Venus, Super Sailor Mercury, the Asteroid Senshi, Tomoyo, and Sakura screamed in fear. With a jarring thud that made them break the circles, the travelers landed on a crystal platform that had appeared beneath them. They sprawled across the clear structure in small heaps, and for a long moment no one moved.
"Ooooowwwwwwww..." Serenity wailed into the silence. "Th… Th… That huuuuurrrttt…"
"Oh, quit your whining," Super Sailor Mars said irritably as she sat up with a wince. Deep within, she breathed a sigh of relief that her best friend was apparently okay. Slowly, with moans and groans, the rest of the senshi sat up as well.
"B… B… But it huuuurrrrts!" Serenity wailed back as she lay on her side and cried. Above her head, Luna pushed herself up and began to limp back towards her charge. King Endymion and Tomoyo also began to move to her side.
"Don't bother," Super Sailor Mars called when she saw them moving. "She's just complaining as usual. If you pay her any attention, she'll just get worse."
"M… M… Meanie…" Serenity blubbered as she turned to look up at Luna. "It… it… it still hurts," she added as she looked into the cat's concerned eyes. Her head shot around as she felt a familiar touch on her back. "Mamo-chan!" she wailed as she lifted herself up and threw herself into his arms. Luna squawked as she dove quickly to one side.
King Endymion hugged his wife tightly and sighed with relief. If she could move, then she truly wasn't hurt. His dark blue eyes met Tomoyo's violet ones reassuringly, and she echoed his sigh of relief.
"Kero-chan? Are you okay?" Sakura asked from the middle of the group.
The giant golden cat winced as he stretched and shook his wings. His right wing sagged a little lower than the left when he relaxed them. "Yeah. Or I would be if she'd ever stop wailin', that is," he replied with a pained glare towards Serenity.
"Noise is interesting, but the decibels are a bit high for this place," a deep voice agreed. Under the group, the platform swayed gently. Surprised, they looked around. Only pastel colored mist met their searching eyes.
Shaoran's eyes narrowed as he took a step closer to Sakura and summoned his sword. Yue called up a small cloud of ice crystals and stepped closer to Tomoyo as Cerberus flared his wings and spun around to guard Sakura's back. Sakura lifted her Book to her chest and continued to look around the mist with wide green eyes.
The senshi responded just as protectively. Tomoyo was surprised to see, however, that they included the small group from Tomoeda in their protections. The four youngest senshi positioned themselves quickly around Sakura and her friends, while the Inners surrounded their king and queen. The Outers shifted to place themselves a little further out, as if to form a lopsided outer ring.
"Ah… That is better…" the voice continued seemingly undisturbed by the movements and positioning. The defenders suddenly realized that Serenity's cries had faded away to soft sobs. "The crystal has relaxed."
"Who are you?" Super Sailor Venus called challengingly. "Where are you?"
A deep chuckle sounded as the platform swayed again. "Such bravado. Courage? Or a mask for fear?"
Super Sailor Mars closed her eyes and concentrated on stretching her psychic senses. Super Sailor Neptune spun slowly in a circle, using her Aqua Mirror to scan the mists, while Super Sailor Mercury used her visor and computer to do the same.
"I'm not a coward," Super Sailor Venus called back. "I'm right here. You're the one who's hiding."
"True… But does that make you the less intelligent one or the weaker one? In any respect, coward or hero, smart or idiot, weak or strong, you are a trespasser." The voice changed slowly from amused to cold implacability.
Luna was quick to respond to it. "Just travelers. We did not mean to trespass. If you would give us but a moment to reorganize, we'll be on our way," she called reassuringly trying her best to project an aura of innocence and regret.
"Travel is forbidden here," the voice responded. Once again, the platform swayed. The group of travelers looked around in alarm.
"We assure you that as soon as we get home, we will not come here again," Super Sailor Mercury called out as she directed her attention to the platform instead of the mist. "Are you the guardian of this space? Sailor…?"
The voice was silent for a moment. "Ah, the knowledgeable one," it rumbled. "Your guess is correct, but your answer is unacceptable. You should not have traveled here in the first place."
"Not just the knowledgeable one," Super Sailor Pluto said as she took a step in towards the middle of the platform and slowly raised her Time Key. "Wisdom. And the start of this journey was not of our choosing… Sailor Æther."
"So… The Garnet Orb. Time/Space. You are recognized, Pluto" the voice said measuringly. Super Sailor Pluto looked quickly at the other Outer Senshi, who nodded and raised their Talismans as they stepped forward. "The Aqua Mirror. The Space Sword. The Silence Glaive. Truly a remarkable circumstance."
As the voice fell silent again, the mist around the platform began to retreat. The travelers gasped in surprise as they realized that they were standing on the top of a small, solid-looking crystal tower. Around them, a large palace stretched out into the mist. Slowly, a giant figure materialized on the parapet of the tower.
"A… dragon...?" Sailor Vesta gasped in surprise. The gleaming, rainbow jewel-toned beast turned its head and gave her a considering look from its bright yellow-green eyes. Slowly, deliberately, it spread its wings to their full span, rose up on its hind legs, and stretched its full length into the space above them.
Tomoyo, Shaoran, Sakura, and Serenity stared up at it fascinated as their friends tensed and prepared for battle. Exuding an air of amusement, the dragon slowly settled itself on the parapet again. "Such a gathering. And, I assume that she is here as well. I suppose I should be honored," it said reflectively. The group exchanged puzzled glances. "Maybe I will be, when my ears have recovered from the child's crying."
"But that is for another space and time," the dragon rumbled with a glint in its eyes at their puzzled expressions, "though perhaps not another world. You are indeed far from home. What has brought you to this place with these forbidden companions?" The senshi exchanged uncertain looks, and then Super Sailor Venus motioned for Super Sailor Mercury to do the talking.
"We senshi were blasted from our own plane, one at a time, by an enemy using an ancient banishment spell," she explained as succinctly as she could. "Somehow, we all ended up in the same place, where we became connected to the spirits which are controlled by Sakura-san's Cards. We need to return home as soon as possible to protect our remaining companions and our world, but the connection is not easily broken. Therefore, Sakura-san agreed to accompany us as far as possible."
"Hmmm… There is indeed such a connection… Tenuous, but strong," the dragon replied as it eyed them consideringly. "And just how did Sakura-san and her friends plan to return home?"
"We would send her back using the map we had prepared," Super Sailor Mercury replied. "Once we have been freed from the Cards and working from our home base in Crystal Tokyo, it should not be that difficult."
The dragon looked at her a moment, and then snorted. "More difficult than you imagine, Wise One," it replied. "The paths between worlds change constantly. I am very surprised you managed to find your way here so quickly. In case you hadn't noticed, you've been circling this Palace for some time." At Super Sailor Mercury's surprised look, she smiled. "It's been quite amusing to watch, actually. Flit here, pause for a moment, flit over to there, lazily spiral your way off to that corner, blast your way to another… Sparkling all over with power… I'm almost tempted to let you find your own way, just so I can enjoy the display some more."
"But you won't, will you? You will help us, won't you?" Serenity asked as she stepped free of King Endymion's arms. "Please…" she pleaded. "My daughter is in danger. We have to hurry!"
The dragon turned and studied her for a moment, taking in her pale face and desperate blue eyes. Then, it rose up on its hind legs and spread its wings once more. The travelers watched in amazement as tendrils of the surrounding mist engulfed it. The resulting sphere shrank down until it was human sized, and then dispersed. Before them, a senshi with rainbow colored, dark-toned hair and wings stood. Her fuku was very similar to that of the Senshi of Sol. Her skirt and knee-high boots were the same pastel color as the mists around them, while her multicolored dragon skin choker was darker than her skirt but lighter than her shoulder-length hair. From it, a small geode glittered in the light. She did not wear a tiara, but on her forehead an infinity sign glowed and spun slowly. In contrast to her dragon form, her human form was fairly small, just a little taller than Sailor Pallas, and slight. Super Sailor Æther looked at Serenity once more, and then bowed. "As you wish. I will show you the path home, and once the connection with the Cards has been severed, I will escort Sakura-san and her friends back to their own world." Her voice was still deep and seemed to rumble its way out of her small frame.
"Thank you," the queen replied with relief. She smiled brightly at her new comrade, who smiled back. Her guardians, however, were not as pleased.
"That was a little too easy, wasn't it?" Super Sailor Jupiter asked suspiciously as she narrowed her gaze. As Super Sailor Æther turned to raise an eyebrow at her, the other three guardians nodded. Slowly, the four of them tightened their protective circle around Serenity and King Endymion.
Super Sailor Æther just smiled with amusement. "It keeps her from crying, doesn't it?" she asked almost flippantly. "I like my Palace the way it is, thank you, not in shards around my feet. Besides, she is…" Abruptly, she cut herself off. "Your queen is she not?" she continued in an obvious substitution. "The queen of such a band of loyal warriors should be heeded. You never know who she might be in the future." Her yellow-green eyes sparkled with amusement at her private joke. "And it returns you all to your proper places, which will make my job easier. Shall we go? I believe you are in a hurry?"
"We don't have much choice, do we?" Super Sailor Mercury responded still looking uneasy. She turned her gaze from Super Sailor Æther to Super Sailor Pluto. "What do you think?" she asked, trusting that the Senshi of Revolution would be more knowledgeable about this creature.
Super Sailor Pluto looked at Super Sailor Æther for a long moment, and then turned her gaze to Serenity. Finally, she nodded. "It is her job to keep order here. And if Serenity trusts her, then I shall, too," she said in her husky voice.
Super Sailor Æther's smile grew wider. "Spoiled but not rotten, hm?" she whispered softly to herself. "Good. Very good indeed…"
"Let's go," Serenity said as she held her hands out to her husband and the leader of her senshi. "We have to hurry!" Slowly, reluctantly, her friends formed up once more into their circle. Super Sailor Æther took Super Sailor Mercury's place within the very center of the circles, flexed her wings, and then gathered their power. Slowly, the group became vaporous and faded away from the crystal tower.