PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE
Chapter 62: Toxic Reunion Pt. I
In a dazzling swath of light that enveloped her body, Small Lady transformed into Sailor Chibi Moon and took the lead for the Sailor Quartet and Zarnik. The six of them held hands and stood in a circle formation, while everyone else looked on. They summoned the energies of their guardian planets, then chanted together, "Sailor Teleport!"
After a deafening boom of energy burst from the team, their forms disappeared and immediately re-emerged out on the streets of Crystal Tokyo. The roads were mostly quiet thanks to the evacuation effort, but several guards had Juuban Park surrounded.
"What should we do?" Ceres asked. "Should we barge in with the guards, or sneak around them?"
"I prefer the latter option myself," Zarnik said. "If the Camarilla find themselves overwhelmed by our numbers, they won't hesitate to kill those civilians in the midst of the battle."
Chibi-Moon frowned hard. "If that's what you think they'll do, then I won't doubt it. Let's find an opening and ambush them when we can."
"I'll create a diversion for you. At least one of us should focus on protecting the civilians while the rest fight the Camarilla."
"Tee hee! Leave the escorting to me!" Pallas stuck her tongue out playfully. "I've got a few new tricks I wanna try out!"
The small group separated, with Zarnik and Pallas venturing together into the park first while the others followed a good distance. The infiltrating duo deftly skirted past trees, bushes and gardens in an effort to stay under cover. Eventually they reached the main square and discovered a group of about 10 frightened people being forced to stay in the center, with the impatient Camarilla surrounding them and brandishing their weapons in a threatening manner.
"Did you cretins not hear what we said!?" Gyps shouted to someone in the distance, presumably a guard. "Bring the princess and Sailor Zarnik here, or we start killing people every 15 minutes! You only have five minutes before we slaughter our first victim!"
"Please, spare us…" an old man fell to his knees and begged. "There's no need to do this. Save yourselves from committing a sin that you will regret-"
He immediately felt a sharp pain run along his cheek, and the hostages yelped in panic as a wound peeled open upon his skin and dripped blood. Gyps raised her bloody claw before her face and warned, "No compromises. If you want to blame anyone, blame your queen for abandoning you when you needed her the most."
"Now, now, keep your lid on," Apis chuckled. "It would ruin our credibility if we broke our own stipulations just because we got impatient."
"Threatening them's no big deal, right? Gotta show that we're serious after all. 'Sides, how much time do we have until I get to have my fun on these weaklings?"
"Hmm… About four minutes or so."
Back in the thick shrubs, Pallas whispered frantically, "You hear that!? Are we gonna be okay like this!?"
"It'll be more than enough time. Get your 'new little tricks' ready," Zarnik confidently responded as she kneeled and chanted Perfect Aim to enhance her accuracy. She didn't really need to hit anyone, but she had to perform a well-aimed snipe at the ground without harming the innocent people. Pallas cupped her hands and summoned her sky blue orbs, waiting for the right moment to act.
"You see that? It doesn't look like the Royal Family cares if one or two of you people die," Gyps chuckled, inciting the crowd to cry out in shock. "Well, that's life for you. Gotta break some eggs to make an omelet and all that. So, who wants to be the first to meet their end?"
That was when Zarnik fired her arrow, and it pierced the ground directly in front of Gyps before she could approach any of the hostages. The four Camarilla gasped, instantly recognizing the arrow and looking to see where it came from.
"She's here!" Naja exclaimed.
Apis reeled and shouted, "Look out!"
As she expected, the arrow exploded into a green cloud that was so thick that no one could see their own hands in front of them.
"Damn it!" Gyps swore.
"Stay alert. This is a trap that Zarnik is most fond of," Varan warned her.
"I know that already, dammit!"
"YAHOOHHHH!" Sailor Ceres' cheerful voice suddenly boomed through the smoke, and Gyps noticed too late that she was swinging straight towards her on a flowery trapeze swing. Ceres barged her legs straight against her opponent's solar plexus.
"UWOOOOOGH!" Gyps groaned and flew backwards, collapsing on her upper back so viciously that one couldn't be blamed for thinking she was paralyzed. She managed to get back up, but reeled from the double whammy while glaring at Ceres and screaming, "YOU TWO-BIT HUSSY!"
Ceres merely laughed off the venomous insult and sent a gust of yellow flower petals whirling past Gyps. The Camarilla clenched her teeth, but then chuckled and retorted, "You're wasting your time! Either give up, or I'll spill this brat's blood!"
She grabbed one of the younger hostages and pointed her long red claws at their neck. To her surprise however, Ceres merely shrugged and said, "I wonder about that."
"Don't believe me? Then I'll show you!"
With no hesitation, the villainess slashed her sharp, sinewy fingers against the child's neck. For some reason though, her hostage felt … denser than she expected. It was like fingers scraping against rock or some similar material. She glared down and gasped in absolute shock. What she thought was a child turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of blue orbs melded together to resemble a small person. The balls broke apart in her grasp and floated back towards Sailor Pallas, who was busy getting the hostages out of the area during the distraction. The little orbs coagulated back together into her main blue ball, and she childishly stuck her tongue out at Gyps. The Camarilla was beyond livid at this point. Ceres used this opportunity to command some flowery vines to ensnare Gyps, and they were stuck in a stalemate.
Chibi-Moon, Vesta and Juno challenged the other three Camarilla during the escape. Naja brought her hands forth and called out, "Cobra's Bite!"
"Pink Lady's Heart Barrage!" Chibi-Moon summoned the Pink Lady's Regalia and channeled a series of pink hearts to intercept the ice-water snake head that lunged toward her with sharp fangs bared. Naja unsheathed a long thin rapier and slashed at her opponent. Chibi-Moon desperately had to use her wand as a makeshift sword to parry the blade, but she wasn't as good with swordfighting as Naja was.
Juno performed a series of gymnastic flips before jumping and doing a dive kick against Varan's spear, while Vesta whipped the air with her fire-laced whip at a bunch of robotic bees that Apis sent her way. All this while, the dense green smoke dissipated enough for Pallas to lead the frightened hostages to safety with the guards before she returned to join her sisters in the battle. She sent one large orb that smashed against Varan's back and sent her face forward onto the ground, while simultaneously shooting a smaller ball at Apis' hands to knock out the remote control for the bees she was manipulating.
Zarnik had witnessed Chibi-Moon being in trouble and hurried out of her hiding spot to assist her. Naja managed to knock the Pink Lady's Regalia out of Chibi-Moon's hands, and she eagerly clenched her hand around Chibi-Moon's brooch to try and rip the Pink Moon Crystal off of her bosom. Zarnik jumped from behind Chibi-Moon and did a roundhouse kick to Naja's face that sent her stumbling back clumsily. About this time, Gyps used her brute strength to tear out of Ceres' vines. Realizing that they were outmatched four to six, the Camarilla regrouped and stood face-to-face with the Sailor Soldiers.
"So you both came," Naja said. "I was beginning to doubt whether or not Earth's guardians actually cared about its citizens."
"How dare you involve innocent people in your selfish struggle for the Silver Crystal!" Chibi-Moon pointed at them. "I don't know what your objective is, but your methods are not right! We are the Soldiers of Love and Justice, who protect this planet with our lives!"
Chibi-Moon performed her signature introductory pose, then announced, "Sailor Chibi-Moon!"
"Sailor Ceres!"
"Sailor Pallas!"
"Sailor Vesta!"
"Sailor Juno!"
"In the name of the Moon-" Chibi-Moon started.
"We'll punish you!" she and the Quartet declared together.
Zarnik didn't join in their speech, merely staring at her former comrades listlessly. There would be no more luxury of trying to convince them. Even if she found out what their motives were, it didn't mean anything if it caused needless suffering to her new friends. However, she did want to ask the Camarilla something extremely important.
"Hmph! What a bunch of uneducated scamps!" Gyps laughed. "I can't wait to peel you apart like grapes!"
"But before that…" Naja murmured, noticing Zarnik's distant expression. "Sailor Zarnik. Are you sure this is what you want to do?"
To everyone's surprise, the green-haired archer dully replied, "That's what I should be asking you. If you're after the Silver Crystal so badly, then there's something I need you to answer."
"What would that be?"
"I found out about Neo Queen Serenity and Small Lady Serenity possibly dying from using the Silver Crystal's power," Zarnik faced a surprised Chibi-Moon, then fervently shook her head. "I couldn't ask either of them to die for Alkima's sake. Not only was it impossible for me to ask the Royal Family to sacrifice their lives for us, but now I find out that you four want the Silver Crystal for yourselves. I just don't understand. Did you know that the Silver Crystal could kill its owner if used too much?"
Naja placed her hands on her chest in an attempt to control her emotions. Varan stepped in and responded, "Yes. We knew about it when we sent you to Earth as much as we do now."
"You're insane! What good is reviving Alkima if you're not around to experience it!?"
"We are Sailor Soldiers. Our lives are in service not only to our planets, but to the good of the entire universe. Alkima must prevail as the sword that protects the Galaxy Cauldron from external evils. Now that our home is gone, it is virtually open season for villains to swarm the Cauldron and take control of it. Compared to such a threat, us four sacrificing our lives to reincarnate Alkima from absolute zero is nothing to be so incensed about."
"Well, that's true, but…"
"Alkima's destruction was a major setback for the forces of Cosmos. We must restore that balance. To that end, we will rip the Silver Crystal out of this world's royal family's hands if needed. Get out of our way, Zarnik. At this rate, we will see you as nothing but an encumbrance towards this goal."
"I will not. Your plan is sheer madness. You four would not be able to control the Silver Crystal's power. It is doomed to failure."
"Don't you worry a lick about that," Apis rubbed her nose confidently. "I've been working on a device that will harness its power without endangering our lives."
"It won't work. The Lambda energy it emits is unfathomable. Not even the Goddess Selene could use it without perishing. What makes you think some simple machine can do what a goddess could not?"
"No one said that we had to revive Alkima all at once. If we do it one planet at a time, we should be able to control the Lambda power without endangering our lives."
Chibi-Moon barked angrily, "In the end, you're just trying to reshape Alkima in your image! How is that any different than what Upala is trying to do!?"
"Don't lump us in the same pile of manure she came from, you pint-sized wretch!" Gyps shouted back. "She just wants to dominate everything she lays her eyes on! On the other hand, we want to restore balance to this scarred universe! If we only revive planets with Sailor Soldiers who share our vision, we can become an ally to your galaxy! This is for everyone's benefit, not just for one person's!"
"You can't pick and choose who you're going to resurrect! You'd just be playing god then!"
"To the victor goes the spoils. That's all I have to say."
Clearly, no amount of debating was going to sway the former Camarilla from changing their minds. They were fully convinced that their way was just and righteous. Perhaps it was on the surface, but Earth's guardians knew better than that. If this path was pursued any further, it would spawn only further madness. They had to be stopped, right here and now.
"Sailor Zarnik… My dear friend," Naja clasped her hands. "You're still unaware of something else we've hidden from you."
Zarnik widened her eyes. "Something else?"
"The whole thing about asking for Neo Queen Serenity's help was a lie; that much is certain. Although our method was unjust, our intention was noble - we really wanted to get you away from Alkima and have you live a new life on Earth, but we knew you would never agree to leave if we said it like that. Therefore, we convinced you to depart by using that objective as a lure. Furthermore, the time it took you to reach Earth would have in itself made your mission impossible."
Zarnik thought about the capsule that she had been encased inside and sent flying across the cosmos in a deep sleep. True, she had no way of knowing how long the journey would take. She was so focused on the hope of asking Serenity to help Alkima that the question never occurred to her before leaving Kadmas that fateful day. Her next question was inevitable:
"… How long did it take for me to get to Earth?"
The four Camarilla tensed up and sighed nervously. A tear even escaped Gyps' eye. Zarnik almost felt like she didn't want to hear the answer. Finally, Naja found the courage to say what none of them wanted to:
"It took approximately 1000 years."