Wings of Serenity rewrite
Chapter 5: The monster revealed.
The meeting room was quiet. Another unsuccessful meeting with the Queen fell through, everybody who had attended had already left, yet Madam Anastasia still remained. She was preoccupied with her thoughts, processing everything that had been covered. The progress of the search for Princess Icesisity, which had worried her greatly, and the discovery that had been made by the other Queens and Prince Remus were the main focus of the meeting. Luckily, for her, Princess Icesisity still hadn't been found. As for the threat from the Sun Kingdom... she already knew about it. The redhead knew the Queen was lying - Serenity told them there was nothing to fear and that they would prevent the threat from spreading. If only they knew what it really was.
Her mind drifted back to the conversation she had with her brother after witnessing Princess Icesisity's disappearance. Lord Topaz wasn't at the coronation. He had deployed some of his soldiers around the palace before making his way to the palace's library.
"And she just vanished without a trace?" Lord Topaz questioned. "I find that hard to believe"
"Are you calling me a liar?" Madam Anastasia demanded.
"What I am saying is that Serenity and Icesisity have become a lot closer since the kidnapping, that would never have happened if our previous leader had done her job properly" Lord Topaz told her "And besides today is Princess coronation. Her sister maybe forgetful but she wouldn't miss it for the world. Perhaps you just imagined the whole deal. After all..."
*Slap*
"How dare you! I know what I saw, Noboru. Without the girl we're back at square one" Anastasia yelled.
Topaz staggered backwards, clutching the left side of his face. Deep down he was angry with himself. He was fully aware of what could happen if he or anybody else made the redhead angry. He was a fighter but Anastasia could be just as deadly in any type of situation. Her abilities could rival that of the Sailor Senshi or the Queens and Princesses. Magic and manipulation were her strongest points. Besides she he knew he had crossed the line when she used that name...
Swallowing his pride, and his pain, he apologised to her "My apologies, sister. I crossed the line and what I said was uncalled for."
"That's better. Now this is only a minor set back. However, we must get to Princess Icesisity first" Madam Anastasia stated. " Without her crystal everything we have worked for will be lost"
"There's a slight problem with that. We don't know where the Princess went" Topaz pointed out.
"I do She and her friends were talking about the Glacius Palace - where ever that is. They must be looking for something, they would never have mentioned it if it wasn't important" Anastasia replied "She took three of her friends with her, as well as that blonde haired girl"
"The one the Princess saved from the lake this morning" The Captain remembered.
"Yes. I will not lie, brother, there is something worry some about her" Anastasia said.
Before they knew it two years flashed by. Various meetings with the newly crowned Queen took place, each of them covered various topics , yet the search for Princess Icesisity only had them interested. When they heard about Princess Icesisity disappearance Serenity and her parents were devastated. They feared she had been kidnapped again, yet Princess Serendipity cold them not to worry. Anastasia could tell that she was lying but that wasn't of any concerned to her. Both she and her brother agreed that they needed to find the missing Princess first. They needed every bit of research and information from the search party. With Topaz being the captain of the Moon guard they could obtain the information quite easily. Yet, as the search went on, the information was decreasing. Despite that Anastasia made a promise to herself. That they would find the Princess first before anybody else.
Anastasia sighed as she ran her left hand through her hair. Finding the location of the Glacius Palace was proving to be a difficult task. They couldn't ask the Queen or her parents - it would only arouse suspicion and uneasy questions, that was something Anastasia couldn't let happen. And besides there was more important issues to deal with. One of those issues was the Prince from Estoelia who was present at the meeting. He had only been at the Moon Palace for a few days and yet she could sense something between the Prince and the Queen. This wouldn't have bothered her if it was somebody else but Remus has the powers of the Sun and any children he could have would inherit those powers as well. Perhaps she was overthinking it. Anastasia knew what kind of people the Solarians could be, what they could be capable of. Maybe this was all an act.
With nothing else to do she decided to go see her brother, see if he had made any progress. She left the meeting room and made her way to the northern part of the palace where the library was located. It was the starting point for their search anything to do with the Moon Kingdom's History would be valuable. When she entered the room she found her brother sitting in a secluded area on the left side of the room with books, documents and ancient texts on the table. The library had two floors, each filled with a row of bookcases which went all the way to the other side of the room, both floors were connected by a spiral staircase. Both floors had blue carpet with silver markings, planetary symbols and runes stitched into them and on the celling there was a painted mural of the Moon Goddess, Selene. In the centre of the room was a large round table with white cloth over it and chairs placed neatly around the table. On top of it was ancient texts and book, not the ones she and her brother were looking for. She did guess that they were left by the Moon Sages (who were currently doing Prayers). On the other side of the room there was a marble statue of the Selene, around the statue were vases with white roses and behind it was a stain glass window.
When Anastasia approached her brother he quickly looked up as she took her seat on the other side of the table.
"Well, any progress?" The women inquired.
"I have checked every possible source and text, but I haven't found Palace's location" Topaz told her "I even asked the Moon Sages, for research purposes of course, but they don't know where it is. Most of them haven't heard of it"
"Do they not know the story of Icesisity's birth? They should know it, after all one of their did betray them" Anastasia said before muttering something "And we can't ask the Princess's friends. They wouldn't reveal each others secrets"
The captain of the Moon guard nodded slightly, knowing what his sister was thinking. The Princess's friends would do anything to protect her, just like the Planetary Queens would protect Queen Serenity. There were things they could do to require the information from Icesisity's friends but given that they are Sailor Soldiers they could hold their own against the two of them - despite not being at their fullest power and missing some of their allies. Besides even if they were to do that it would destroy everything they have already accomplished.
But back at the matter at hand...
"I'm starting to think the Glacius Palace doesn't exist. If nobody has heard of it, or knows the location of the Palace, then what hope do we have in finding it" The captain said doubtfully.
"Then what would be the purpose of Princess Icesisity's birth? If she is not destined to take the Moon Kingdom's throne then what is she meant for?" Anastasia countered "Her senshi title is Sailor Glacier Moon, is it not?"
"If only we knew what they were looking for..." Topaz sighed.
"It is not what they are looking for, but who they are looking for..."
That voice... They thought they would never hear it again, but there was no mistaking who it belong to. The last time they heard it... they couldn't remember how long it had been since they heard their Queen's voice. Yet, as they turned to face her they saw how... frail she was. It was like she wasn't there, a ghost really. Had she had a physical body they would have seen the reddish purple hair colour or the black eye colour with red eye shadow. The red gown with a purple underskirt, the black cape and healed shoes or the silver necklace with a red outline and the silver bracelets. But as she was, a mere hologram of her original self, they could only see how long and how flowy her hair was, the sharp features on her face or the mysterious and unreadable glint in her eyes and the burnt marks on her skin. For this person was the Great Queen - Queen Metalia.
Immediately, Anastasia and Topaz rose from there seats and bowed down to her.
"My Queen, it has been to long" Anastasia greeted her.
"That it has, my dear" Metalia replied "I must say I barely recognised you two when I first saw you. I take it these are you new forms?"
"Yes, my Queen. It wasn't easy, both of the put up a fight, but there's two less people in the world now" Topaz told her. He frowned slightly whilst taking in her current state "Forgive me, my Queen, but was has happened to you?"
"This form is what I have managed to create with the little magic I have left. I have not been able to escape from my prison yet" Metalia explained "I still need the necessary amounts of energy and the Silver Crystal for when I managed to break the seal"
"We are working on it, your majesty" Anastasia promised.
The sharp features were quickly replaced by a scowl. Anger flashed on her face and heat burned through her. " Have you now? You have had plenty of chances to kill Serenity and take her Silver Crystal. And, yet, here I find you doing nothing. Explain yourselves!"
Anastasia filched at the unpredicted anger, yet both and brother knew it was inevitable. There wasn't a official plan but she tried to explain herself the best she could "Forgive me, my Queen. We have been trying but it has been difficult what with the alliance between the Queens and the Prince of the Sun Kingdom"
"What alliance?" Metalia questioned. Curiosity replaced anger.
"The planetary Queens are allied with Queen Serenity, they fight for and with her. As for the Prince he has agreed to stay and help the Queens with the threat from the Sun Kingdom" Anastasia explained "I believe there is something between the two of them, and if the two were to have a children..."
"Then there's a possibility that one of those children could be blessed with the powers of the Sun, thus preventing me from escaping" Metalia muttered.
"Yes, my Queen. That's why me and my brother have thought of an alternative solution. If we were to go after Princess Icesisity instead and obtain her Crystal then you would be able to command the powers of Ice and Snow" Anastasia said.
"Her powers are stronger then Queen Serenity, my Queen" Topaz pointed out.
Metalia took a moment to process everything she had heard. She hadn't heard of this Icesisity, yet, somehow she had the feeling she was the one behind Amalthea's death. She had only seen fragments of the Sailor warriors battles, fragments which only provided limited visions. Yet, if what they say is true... and if this power is stronger then the Queens, then she needed it.
"Very well. Bring me Icesisity's crystal and eliminate her Senshi" Metalia ordered.
"There is just one problem with that, my Queen. The girl went to the Glacius Palace and we don't know where is it or how to get there" Topaz told her.
There a slight irritation on her face, but there was understanding as well. The fragments have shown her the location of the Palace, even though she didn't know what it was at the time. With a quick wave of her hand she used the last of her magic to send Anastasia and Topaz to the location of the Glacius Palace. With that done she allowed her temporary form to disappear and head back to the prison, muttering to herself that this would be their last chance before she would get rid of them for good.
The women left the forgotten chamber, feeling more alive and useful. She was searching for something - someone. As soon as she woke up Sailor Crystal felt the presence of intruders. A group of people managed to get inside the walls of her Queen's Palace, and that was something couldn't allow. So she took of, trying to find these intruders and removing them from the Palace one way or another. She had no direction but she didn't care. The only thing that mattered was defending her Queen's Palace. She will not fail again.
"Tempest Gale Turbulence!" Sailor Tempest yelled.
Locating the sealed chamber wasn't an easy task. Whilst they had an idea where to go, there progress was restricted as a pack of snow wolves had intercepted them. They had piercing red eyes, shaggy white fur and razor sharp teeth and fangs. They should be easy to defeat, without using drastic measures, but they were more tougher and had more stamina. They couldn't be taken down with simple attacks.
"They just keep coming!" Sailor Moon yelled after using her tiara again.
"Well, lets try something else" Sailor Vol yelled.
There was a bright flash of orange light, within a few seconds a strange sceptor was in front of Sailor Vol. At the top was a red circular object with yellow and orange spikes around it and a strange volcanic symbol on the front. The object was connected to a short brown pole and at the bottom of the pole was a white trapezium.
Grabbing the weapon, Sailor Vol yelled "Volcanic eruption!"
With one swoop of her sceptor the ground started to shake and a red hot liquid emerged from the ground. Sailor Vol sent the lava towards the snow wolves and it started to burn them. Following suit Sailor Star Myth brought out her star blaster and quickly fired a beam of harsh light at the remaining wolves.
"That's all of them!" Sailor Vol declared as she placed her hands of her hips.
"But where did they come from?" Sailor Moon questioned.
"Not sure, must have came in when the doors opened" Sailor Vol guessed.
"Not quite. These types of wolves are native to the Permafrost Moon, they usually live at the outskirts of the Moon" Sailor Glacier Moon explained "But their eyes... they looked so different. Almost possessed"
"Or corrupted" Sailor Star Myth suggested "We have seen enough corruption to know that wasn't a sign of possession"
"Whatever it is hopefully that's the last of them. We're wasting enough time as it is" Sailor Tempest said "We're getting close to sealed chamber"
With that said the group went towards a set of closed doors. They were about to open the doors when-
"That's as far as you go!"
Looking behind them they saw Madam Anastasia and Lord Topaz standing in the middle of the room. Though Sailor Moon had never seen them before she could tell, just by looking at her aunty, that they meant trouble. Speaking of the blue haired Senshi Sailor Glacier Moon took a few steps forwards, placing herself between her friends and the sibling as a means to defend them.
"What are you doing here?" She demanded.
"Queen Serenity has sent us to come and find you and to bring you back to the Moon Palace" Topaz told her "I suggest you come with us, there's no need to make things more difficult, Princess"
"That's a lie. My sister doesn't know the location of the Palace, and even if she did she would never tell you!" Sailor Glacier Moon yelled "Besides we're on an important mission, Serenity would never make a move like that"
"Who are they?" Sailor Moon asked.
"We have never met before, have we? My name is Anastasia, advisor to Queen Serenity and teacher to Princess Icesisity and the former Princess" Anastasia said. Gesturing to her brother she added "And this is my brother, Topaz. He's the captain of the Moon Guard"
"There's something not right about this" Sailor Vol whispered.
"I agree. Why would they come here with an escort?" Sailor Star Myth muttered.
"Regardless if you have been sent by Queen Serenity, as Sailor Glacier Moon said she doesn't know the location of the Glacius Palace. Therefore you have no business here and you are intruding" Sailor Tempest spoke.
"And you do?" Topaz remarked.
"Enough! This is your last warning, Princess Icesisty. Come with us now and no more blood needs to be spilled" Anastasia yelled.
At that moment there was a bright flash of blue light. In front of her was her weapon: The Ice Sceptre. There was a snowflake at the top with a blue crescent in the middle of it. The sceptre was silver and at the bottom of it was icy blue point. She grabbed the sceptre and yelled "Icicle crash!" With the words spoken, and a single movement of the sceptre , icicles came crashing down from the celling. As much as she hated them she didn't want to kill them so she didn't put that much energy into her attack, only enough to knock them out. However, that thought was shorted lived when it was revealed that they both lived the attack with a shield placed around them.
"So be it" Anastasia snarled.
With a snap of her left hand a blood red light surrounded the siblings, causing Anastasia's and Topaz's appearances to change. Anastasia's hair grew longer and flowed to the bottom of her dress. Her dress became more shorter and revealing, exposing her legs and her breasts, and there were two sets of gold pearls under her breasts. Her arms were bare with three gold bracelets on each arm. On her right leg was a set of runes and on her left legs were a garter placed neatly along side the runes. She also had black pointed shoes with heals. Topaz's hair became more spiky and his eyes changed from dark purple to grey. His outfit changed to a black suit of armour and boots and there were a collection of scares on his face and body.
"What's going on here?" Sailor Glacier Moon questioned.
"Have you figured it out yet? Haven't you heard about Lady Anastasia and Lord Topaz? The real ones at least" Topaz said.
"The real Anastasia and Topaz died a long time ago. We took their place in order to trick Queen Merrity so that we can obtain the Silver Crystal" The women told them " You can call me Kagami"
"And my name is Noboru" The soldier added with a mock bow.
"Why do you want the Silver Crystal?" Sailor Tempest questioned.
"Its very simple. We need the Silver Crystal in order to revive our Queen, Queen Metalia. However, after our most recent meeting, we decided to change our plans" Kagami revealed before point at Sailor Glacier Moon "We want her Crystal"
"We believe that her Crystal is more powerful then the Silver Crystal. After all she did destroy Queen Amalthea, no?" Noboru added.
"That's a lie! We all fought Amalthea. We combined our powers together and it was Sailor Glacier Moon, who pushed herself by the way, who gave the final blow" Sailor Vol ranted.
"Enough! My patients is starting to run out. This is your last chance, Princess. Come with us now and no more blood has to be spilled!" Kagami said.
"If you want our Princess so badly you'll have to go through us first" Sailor Vol stated.
"Shall we?" Sailor Tempest asked.
"Let's fight!" Sailor Star Myth declared "Star dream blaster!"
"Gale Tornado!" Sailor Tempest yelled.
"Volcanic sandstorm!" Sailor Vol yelled.
Twirling her staff above her Sailor Tempest summon a tornado, she wait until it was high enough before sanding it towards Kagami and Noboru. The soldier managed to get away before it hit him but Kagami wasn't so lucky. She used a shield to absorb most of the attack but she was still knocked down by it. Noboru, taking his sword out of its sheath, quickly engaged in sword to staff combat with the Senshi of storms. After firing their own attacks, as a means of covering Sailor Tempest, Sailor Vol and Sailor Star Myth engaged in combat with Kagami. Sailor Vol used another Volcanic Eruption whilst the Starlight fired her lazar again. Kagami managed to dodge the lazer with an impressive amount of speed, though she was slightly burned by Sailor Vol attack.
"You bitch!" The redhead cursed whilst holding her right arm.
Despite being a force of darkness she managed to heal her right arm before sending a wave of dark power towards Sailor Vol. The redhead was hit by the attack but she manged to recover quickly. Before Sailor Vol could retaliate she watched as Sailor Star Myth fired a different attack and managed to successful hit Kagami whilst she wasn't watching. Back with Sailor Tempest and Noboru the Soldier had managed to back the Senshi of storms into a corner, though she managed to parry his sword away before he could break her staff.
"Somebody has taught you well" Noboru said.
"My sister isn't the Senshi of winds for nothing" Sailor Tempest told him "Now, enough chatter. Tempest Stormy Reckoning!"
After being upgraded by Queen Merrity all of Sailor Glacier Moon friends were given a attack similar to 'Glacier Ice Purification' and this one happened to be Sailor Tempest's. She created a storm above her and a turbulence which came from behind her. With a single movement of her staff the turbulence became violent, to the point where Noboru was having difficulty standing. He was hurled backwards and then hit by the storm which sent lightning bolts at him.
As all of the chaos was happening Sailor Moon and Sailor Glacier Moon could only watch on as their friends were fighting. They had to do something, but what? Sailor Moon thought back to her attacks, how they were meant for healing and wasn't as useful as Mars's fire or Jupiter's lightning. (In fact if Sailor Mars was here and alive she would be yelling at her for doing nothing)
"We must do something. I will not allow my friends to fall so easily." Sailor Glacier Moon finally said. Turning to the blonde senshi she said" We can use a double attack. I know what's in your heart, Serena, but whatever does beyond the point of no return cannot be healed."
"I see." The blonde muttered. "But I don't have... Ah, wait now I remember. I do have something."
"And this is?" Sailor Glacier Moon inquired.
"Just use your attack and see." Sailor Moon said.
Nodding the senshi of ice yelled out "Glacius Avalanche!" and, as the name implied, created an avalanche which trapped Kagami and Noboru. After that was done Sailor Moon noticed the crescent on her tiara light up. She place her thumb and two things around the crescent and yelled the words "Moon Twilight Flash!" The crescent sent a beam of moonlight towards the siblings. Kagami was able to shield herself but Noboru wasn't so lucky. She watched in horror as the beam hit him and disintegrated him.
"And this is?" Sailor Glacier Moon inquired.
"Just use your attack and see." Sailor Moon said.
Nodding the senshi of ice yelled out "Glacius Avalanche!" and, as the name implied, created an avalanche which trapped Kagami and Noboru. After that was done Sailor Moon noticed the crescent on her tiara light up. She place her thumb and two things around the crescent and yelled the words "Moon Twilight Flash!" The crescent sent a beam of moolight towards the siblings. Kagami was able to shield herself but Noboru wasn't so lucky. She watched in horror as the beam hit him and disintegrated him.
"Brother? Where did you go?" Kagami cried. Turning towards the area where the moonlight came from, with fire in her eyes, she yelled "You'll pay for that you bitch! Dark power!"
Using her full strength she hit everybody with a wave of dark power. Though Sailor Moon and Sailor Glacier Moon were still standing, the wave of power managed to knock out the others. She quickly burned the snow around her, noticing her brother's sword on the floor in the process. She brought ut towards her and went charging towards the Ice senshi. The senshi of ice braced herself, waiting for the blow to come. She would give her life so that her niece could fulfil her mission and leave.
"Crystal Mirror Reflection!"
As similar to Sailor Moon's 'Moon Twilight Flash' she saw a beam of light hit Kagami, though this one was more transparent and somewhat yellow. From the moment she felt it hit her Kagami was screaming in pain but it wasn't enough to destroy her. The redhead turned around, eyes widening as she saw somebody new standing before her with a mirror in hand.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
The person in question, who had blonde hair and blue eyes, was a women in a Sailor Fuku. Her collar was a golden yellow, the same colour as her skirt and healed shoes and heart brooch, with two white strips on each side. Her gloves, leotard and shoulder pads were light blue and the glove pads were also the same golden yellow colour. Both of her bows were purple as well as the belt. On her forehead was a silver tiara with a golden yellow gemstone in the middle
With an air of confidence she spoke
"I am Sailor Crystal, Sailor soldier of visions and prophecy and protector of the Glacius Palace! You have no business on my Queens sacred grounds and therefore you will be punished!" Pointing to Kagami she added "You who have brought evil here will face judgement!"