PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE

Chapter 23: The Sailor Soldiers' Fortitude

Chibi-Usa was absolutely astonished by Midori's gutsy move, but she kept her wits together enough to help CereCere to her feet. They recovered right when Midori was knocked aside, and the maturing Erisian slowly inched toward her with pure malice in its eyes.

"CereCere!" Chibi-Usa shouted, removing the brooch containing the Pink Moon Crystal.

"Wait, are you serious!? In front of Midori!?" the other girl gasped.

"We have to! We'll explain everything to her later!"

"If you say so!"

CereCere held her morphing stick, and the duo called out their transformation phrases:

"Pink Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

"Ceres Quartet Power, Make Up!"

Chibi-Usa's brooch sprouted pink ribbons that hugged her body and changed into her Sailor Soldier costume. CereCere's wand created a flurry of yellow rose petals that whirled around her and created her outfit.

Sailor Ceres was more infuriated than Sailor Chibi-Moon as she attracted the monster's attention with some whirling rose petals, and then declared to it, "You have a lot of nerve devouring everyone's emotions like they're mere plant food for you! I am the Sailor Soldier of Blossoms and Poise, Sailor Ceres! You shall fear the wrath of a trampled flower!"

The Erisian spat some corrosive acid at Ceres, forcing her to jump away while it mutated into some sort of bulbous creature with bony arms and hands. The distraction gave Sailor Chibi-Moon the chance to wield the Pink Lady's Regalia and shout, "Pink Lady's Heart Barrage!" The stick flared with pink light and shot dozens of pink hearts. It was similar to the former Pink Sugar Heart Attack except this version was much more potent. Each of the hearts exploded against the Erisian's body like brilliant fireworks, blinding both the monster and Midori with light and glitter.

During the attack, Sailor Ceres had created a trapeze swing out of thorny vines dotted with yellow roses. She swung and grabbed Midori out of the creature's range, dropping down at a safe distance in the audience seats. Chibi-Moon joined them and kneeled next to the dumbfounded Midori.

"What's going on here?" the green-haired girl uttered. Granted she already knew their secret identities, but she was completely caught off guard by the duo transforming right in front of her, thereby revealing themselves to her so openly.

"Are you all right?" Chibi-Moon asked.

"I think so. But you two are…?"

"Sorry for scaring you, but we had no choice if we wanted to protect you. Please keep this a secret from everyone!" Ceres winked as she and Chibi-Moon stood in front of Midori to defend her from the Erisian. Ceres asked her partner, "Think you can destroy this one without Hyena's help?"

"I don't know, but I'll give it a try!"

Midori blinked, realizing that Chibi-Moon couldn't use Sweet Cupid Straight Shoot unless Hyena was there. Even though she wanted to ask Ceres for her ring, she felt it was an inappropriate time to do so, plus Ceres would probably barrage her with questions about why it was so important. She could only hope that the Erisian was weak enough for Chibi-Moon to defeat alone, or that the duo would come up with an alternate plan.

The Sailor Soldiers dashed at the amoeba-like creature as it lunged its pseudopodia at them. Chibi-Moon rolled out of the way, but the surprisingly confident Ceres conjured a series of thorny vines with yellow rosebuds and ensnared some of the tentacles, causing her to be in a tug-of-war stalemate with the Erisian.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" Chibi-Moon shouted.

"If you can transfer your purifying energy into Hyena's arrow, then the same should work with my vines!"

"Oh-!"

"Hurry up! This thing is a lot stronger than it looks!" Ceres grunted as she tried to keep her footing. The monster was so powerful that it managed to drag her across the stage despite her best efforts to resist. It was also evolving from a small, writhing mass of tentacles into a basketball-sized monstrosity with sharp teeth oozing bile.

Chibi-Moon didn't want to waste time arguing, so she pointed the Pink Lady's Regalia at Ceres' vines and shouted, "Sweet Cupid Loving Embrace!"

The glittering pink energy shot out of the wand and transferred into the vines, causing the closed rosebuds to immediately blossom into gorgeous roses that shimmered in every color of the rainbow. The energy continued on its path like electricity coursing through wires, reaching the monster's arms and attacking the evil spirit within the Apple of Discord directly. The ghostly figure of a nondescript woman with long hair and butterfly wings extended from the purifying energy and surrounded the Erisian in a serene embracing motion, dissolving the monster's body and eliminating the wicked spirit residing within. Once it was over, no trace of the creature remained.

"We did it!" Chibi-Moon cheered and gave Ceres a high five.

Midori silently rejoined them on the stage, her eyes wide with surprise. She was genuinely amazed that Ceres' idea worked as well as it did, although she did agree with the theory – the power from the Pink Lady's Regalia only worked in tandem with her friends' attacks. It was assumed that only Hyena's arrows would accept the energy, but now it was proven not to be the case. Midori recalled what Neo Queen Serenity said the first time her daughter had used the wand:

"It is a symbol of nurturing your current friendships and yearning to break through barriers towards making new friends. As long as you remain close with your friends, it will always give you its support."

Midori nodded and thought, So this is what the queen meant. The Pink Lady's Regalia responds by working in tandem with its owner's friends, evolving their attacks into powerful purifying spells.

"Midori!" Chibi-Moon happily exclaimed, distracting her from her thoughts. "Did you see that!? We really did it!"

"A-Ah… Yes, you did," she nodded awkwardly. Then, to Ceres' delight, Midori's lips almost curled into a slight smile as she sighed in relief. Unfortunately, this was when Gyps dropped from the rafters high above and landed behind Midori, then wrapped her arm around the shorter girl's neck and held her tightly!

"Agh!" Midori choked.

Chibi-Moon and Ceres yelped, "Midori!"

"Don't move, Sailor Soldiers!" the Camarilla shouted, extending her free claws in front of her captive's face. "Do anything stupid and I'll spill this girl's blood!"

"Oh no…" Chibi-Moon tensed up with worry for her friend, subconsciously feeling guilty for not keeping Midori safe.

Ceres demanded, "Who are you and what do you want!?"

"Good, you're getting to the point," the villainess grinned. "I am Gyps, one of Eris' subordinates."

"One of her minions? How could you possibly benefit from serving a goddess who does nothing but cause trouble?"

"That's not what you should be worrying about. If you want me to return this girl unharmed, then you should surrender the Silver Crystal to me, Small Lady Serenity."

"The Silver Crystal?" Chibi-Moon clutched her hands over her brooch containing the legendary gemstone. "But this is only half of it. My mother has the other half…"

"What a pain," Gyps rolled her eyes. "Then you'll have to talk with that sheltered queen and convince her to reunite them."

"Wait! What if I gave you my half in exchange for Midori's safe return!?"

Ceres yelped, "Are you insane!? The enemy must not get the Moon Family's treasure, no matter what!"

"But Midori will be killed!"

Gyps shrugged and said, "I'm afraid that won't do. Eris wants the real deal. If your friend is really that important, then reunite the Silver Crystal and deliver it to me. If all goes well, we might even arrange a truce and put a stop to these Erisian attacks."

Chibi-Moon grew anxious and sweated. Ceres clenched her teeth and glowered, "Unbelievable. Do you expect her to take the word of a servant of evil?"

The Camarilla snapped, "It's her decision to make, not yours. In the meantime, I'll be taking this girl as insurance for your cooperation."

She started to walk backwards with her hostage in tow. She glanced down at the green-haired girl and thought, Good. Everything's working perfectly. Soon, we'll have Sailor Arsenic Hyena back in our ranks, and we can finally use the Silver Crystal to-

"Crescent Beam!"

A streak of golden light smashed against Gyps' arm holding Midori's neck, accidentally freeing her! A familiar gentleman wearing battle attire and a cape dashed in from behind the curtains to get the girl out of harm's way. Gyps, Chibi-Moon and Ceres found Sailor Venus standing on a VIP balcony, and the Sailor Soldier jumped and deftly performed a somersault before landing on stage right.

"I've found you, villain!" she shouted and pointed at her enemy. "You're not getting away this time!"

"I never escaped in the first place! It's your fault that I'm stuck on this backwards planet!" Gyps snarled.

"Details, details! The point is that you're going to tell us everything you know about Eris and your organization!"

"You're gonna have to make me talk, girlie!"

As Gyps and Venus spat verbal insults at each other, the well-dressed man put Midori down and stood in front of her like a human shield. She stared up at the much taller figure and recognized his white hair, sharp blue eyes, and slightly tanned complexion.

"You're… Mr. Toudou?" Midori murmured.

He nodded and replied, "My true name is Kunzite, the leader of King Endymion's Four Generals. I apologize for everything that has happened to you this evening. You appear to be too weary to escape, so I shall keep you safe during this battle."

"Mm…" was all she could mutter. Kunzite kept her shielded behind his cloak, but she could still see enough of the fight over his arm. She frowned and instinctively ran her hand over her right ring finger where her ring was supposed to be.

I knew it was a mistake to give it to CereCere. Without it, I can't transform into Sailor Arsenic Hyena.

She watched as Gyps grabbed Venus' leg and attempted to throw her, but the Sailor Soldier reacted by stamping her other foot against the Camarilla's face, breaking free and landing back on her feet with the finesse of a cat.

But maybe I could use this as a chance to witness Earth's warriors facing Eris' minions without my help. I still need to witness their resolve against the goddess' vile ways, after all.

Gyps tried to punch Venus' face, but Ceres shouted, "Ceres Garden Storm!" and created a small bed of yellow roses around Gyps that generated a tiny tornado dotted with hundreds of petals. Gyps tried to keep her balance in the torrential windstorm, but then Venus jumped in with a drop kick and sent her flying off the stage. The Camarilla slashed her claws in mid-flight, hurtling several red slashes at the duo.

"Pinky Typhoon!" Chibi-Moon chanted and spun on her toes a few times like a ballerina while waving the Pink Lady's Regalia around, summoning a pink gust of wind that broke apart the slashes. Chibi-Moon got into position as she yelled at Gyps, "Prepare yourself for my unyielding love and justice! In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"

"Don't act so tough, you spoiled little brat!" the Camarilla raged.

In one swift motion, Gyps tossed off her crimson mantle to reveal herself wearing a black bodysuit studded with polished eudialite stones. They glowed as she crossed her arms over her head, causing her claws to shine a deep red color.

"Vulture's Feast!" she called out, slashing her arms out to create hundreds of tiny red claw marks that wove through the air like needles. The three Sailor Soldiers shrieked as their felt dozens of lacerations tear through their skin and clothing, and they had to duck low to avoid getting torn alive. Kunzite turned around and shielded Midori from the onslaught, but this caused his back to be exposed to the flurry, tearing apart his cape and digging into his skin a little.

Midori widened her eyes and her skin turned slightly pale from shock.

This attack… It's the same…

Once the carnage concluded, Midori looked over the weary Kunzite's shoulder to see Sailors Venus and Ceres collapsed to the ground and covered with wounds. Chibi-Moon was the same, but she was determined to stay on her feet.

"You're mine!" Gyps screeched as she charged at the young girl, intent on snatching the Pink Moon Crystal from her, not afraid to use vicious means if necessary.

"Get away, Small Lady!" Kunzite shouted. Midori covered her mouth, horrified of what could happen to the Sailor Soldier.