PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE
Chapter 62: Toxic Reunion Pt. II
The world went silent. Chibi-Moon and the Sailor Quartet were horrified. Zarnik had to take a moment to digest what Naja just said. Her knees went weak and her heart plummeted into the depths of despair. She lost all grip on reason, giving in to absolute terror over what this meant.
"Midori…" Chibi-Moon put her hand on Zarnik's shoulder and helped to keep her from collapsing. The astonished Sailor Soldier's throat went dry, so she couldn't ask any more questions to her former comrades. Suddenly, Naja whipped her arm across and sent a torrent of water at Chibi-Moon, sending her tumbling away from the depressed Zarnik. While the Sailor Quartet rushed to their leader's side, Naja approached Zarnik and rested her hand on her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry. I wish we could have obtained your time capsule before you reached Earth. Then we could have told you everything at Upala Acropolis. But don't worry. You can still join us. Even though we stand on opposing sides right now, we'll forgive you if you came back to us. Together, we'll take the Silver Crystal from Serenity and use it to kill Eris and revive Alkima to the way it was."
"By 'take the Silver Crystal', you mean to obtain it by force?" Zarnik murmured in a broken sob.
"Serenity has enjoyed its benefits for too long. We need its miraculous power if we are to succeed. We cannot let Eris take it from Serenity first."
"I… I… I don't… know…"
Zarnik couldn't look at her former comrades in the eye anymore, and she slumped her head down to stare at the pavement. She heard footsteps rushing toward them, then a piercing sound, then Naja yelping in shock. Zarnik looked up to see what just happened. Naja had been slapped away from her by none other than a furious Sailor Pallas!
"You're the worst! All of you are absolutely horrible!" Pallas screamed at the top of her lungs. "You want her to pick one side and fight against her friends on the other side!? What kind of people are you!? You aren't thinking about Midori at all! You're just a bunch of selfish jerks who force your decisions onto her, using such terrible lies to make her do what you want! You people are no better than Upala, or even Eris! You don't deserve to call yourselves Midori's friends!"
Naja caressed her swollen cheek to dull the pain. Her expression turned dire as she stood up. This was the first time that the gentle, charismatic leader of the Toxicum Sailor Soldiers had become serious in a long while, and her partners knew it. She fingered her cobra mask and removed it, revealing a pair of calm ultramarine eyes seething with fiery venom behind them.
"'No better than Eris'?" Naja whispered, then chucked the mask to the ground as hard as she could. She gazed at Pallas with a dark, fanged grin and declared, "You're going to regret comparing us to that monster."
The other Camarilla likewise removed their masks to reveal their angry eyes. Naja said to them, "Let us show these saccharine ignorami the true horror of bloodshed between Sailor Soldiers, and demonstrate our unwavering conviction to protect Zarnik and Alkima."
The four grabbed their robes, then tossed them off and let them flutter to the street behind them. They each slipped on a gemstone ring on their right rings fingers, exactly like what Midori did when she transformed. Their sigils shone brightly in their respective colors.
"Cyanide Toxicum Power, Make Up!" Naja shouted, and a sparkling blue mist sprayed out of her ring. Her bodysuit changed into a grey crop top, elbow gloves, boots, and a long flowing blue dress. Two hairpieces dotted her temples, making her resemble a cobra. She summoned a rapier into her hand, posed and declared, "The Sailor Soldier of Leadership and Charisma, Sailor Kanos! I shall lead my people to certain victory!"
"Manganese Toxicum Power, Make Up," Varan murmured, and purple crystals coagulated out of her ring and covered her body, then cracked and broke off to reveal her uniform. She had gem-studded silver armor and gauntlets over her long violet dress. Her mouth was still covered by a purple mask, and she had horns on her head to make her resemble a dragon. She gripped a naginata, posed and declared, "The Sailor Soldier of Valor and Grace, Sailor Mangar. My intrepid soul does not know fear or defeat."
"Cinnabar Toxicum Power, MAKE UP!" Gyps howled, and bright red claws of fury burrowed their way out of her ring and grasped her body like multitudes of large hands. They burned into cinders and changed into her outfit – a red miniskirt over a pair of knee-length shorts, simple black shoes, a belt that became a large bow on her back, and a black headband around her temples. Her hideous claws remained the same, and she slashed in the air before posing and declaring, "The Sailor Soldier of Rage and Vengeance, Sailor Nabar! Know the full extent of my unsatisfied anger!"
"Cadmium Toxicum Power, Make Up!" Apis called out last, and a flurry of golden bees swarmed out of her ring and covered her. She waved her arms apart to dissipate the insects, revealing her costume to be a grey top with a green neckerchief, a yellow bubble skirt, and tied sneakers. Most notable was that she gained a pair of large bee wings as well. She fished in her skirt and came up with several daggers between her fingers, then struck a pose and declared, "The Sailor Soldier of Genius and Invention, Sailor Kadmas! I'm 100 years ahead of your time!"
The Sailor Quartet stood at the ready in front of Chibi-Moon and Zarnik. Ceres glanced back at her leader and urged, "Get her out of here. We'll handle the Toxicum Soldiers ourselves."
"But they're Midori's friends…" Chibi-Moon whimpered.
"This isn't the time for such sentiments. If we allow them to breach our defenses, our war plan will fall apart. I don't want Midori to fight when she's in such a state either. We will take care of things here, so please get her to safety."
Chibi-Moon hesitated for a moment, but one quick look at Zarnik's depressed expression gave her the courage she needed. She nodded and said, "Okay. Be careful, everyone!"
She used her power to create an energy bubble around them, and then held the distressed girl's shoulders while flying away from the imminent battle site.
"You won't get away, Princess!" Kanos shouted and sent another Cobra's Bite at the bubble, engulfing it in solid ice and preventing Chibi-Moon from escaping. Pallas deftly spun a pool cue in her hands and chucked numerous blue orbs into the sky. Then in one quick motion, she used one of the balls as a billiard ball and knocked it with the cue, sending it richocheting methodically against all of the other balls until they built up enough momentum to shatter the ice. Chibi-Moon wasted no time in getting Zarnik away, flying high above some buildings.
Zarnik had fallen to her knees inside the bubble, and Chibi-Moon kneeled down and asked her, "Are you okay?"
"I don't know. I didn't know… it'd take so long. How could I have been so stupid…?"
"It's not your fault! You were deceived!"
"Deceived… by my friends…"
"Oh, Midori…" the young princess wanted to cry, but she needed to stay strong. If this was bothering her so much, she couldn't imagine the hopelessness that Zarnik was feeling right now. Everything she had believed in and worked hard for until now had been a lie – a well-intentioned one, sure, but still a lie. There was no question that her faith in others had been shattered to the core.
"I wish I had stayed behind," Zarnik shook her head.
"Haruka told me about that when you were in the hospital," Chibi-Moon said. "Do you honestly think that you could have do anything to change the outcome of Alkima's war?"
"If I had unlocked the darkness that I inherited from Arsen, then maybe…"
"How is that different from Mama and I using the Silver Crystal to save everyone? Besides, you said it yourself. Even without Eris' influence, Alkima's Sailor Soldiers had become too corrupt and embittered to think about joining together to maintain the peace. Maybe your friends sent you here on a false mission, but you should consider it their heartfelt gift to you."
"A gift…?"
"To keep you safe from the inevitable destruction of the galaxy."
"You're telling me that leaving my planet behind to be destroyed should be considered a gift? What kind of Sailor Soldier abandons their planet in such a time of crisis?"
"Please…" Chibi-Moon hugged Zarnik from behind. "Please don't blame yourself like this…"
Inside Crystal Palace, Sailor Mercury was busy programming the software for her orbital satellites. Neo Queen Serenity and the other seven planetary guardians could see Upala Acropolis on the huge monitor, looming over them like a multicolored omen.
"Are you almost ready, Mercury?" Jupiter asked anxiously.
"Just a moment," her companion urged. "Once the enemy sends their Apples of Discord upon the stratosphere, the satellites will have to work overtime to intercept them."
"We must hurry," Neptune said. "We only get one chance to cripple their fortress."
"And… done! All right, let's go!"
The eight warriors surrounded Serenity in a circular formation and joined hands, while the queen held the Silver Crystal in her cupped hands. As they concentrated on gathering their energies, each of their bodies glowed in their respective colors and congregated towards the pure white crystal like a teepee. Serenity felt such an immense wave of energy gathering in her hands that she wound up floating off the ground. When she felt that enough power had been amassed, she opened her eyes with a determined expression.
"Sailor Planet Attack!" Serenity and the warriors chanted together. The massive gemstones encasing the grand palace slowly changed from clear white to an assortment of random colors. Each of the eight planetary Soldiers' energies coursed through the stone and converged right at the top. The colorful energy shot from the peak like a laser that careened through the stratosphere, into outer space, and directly at Upala Acropolis faster than one could blink.
"Look!" Chibi-Moon pointed at Crystal Tokyo. "Mama and the others are doing Sailor Planet Attack!"
Zarnik barely felt invested in the spectacle, although she did raise her head up high and stare at the sky. It wouldn't be long now before the Animus Syndicate entered into the fray, and things would get chaotic mighty quickly if Earth's guardians slipped up even a little bit in protecting their world. She felt terrible for suddenly slumping into a deep depression at such a critical juncture, yet the startling news of having taken an entire millennium to reach Earth had taken an immense toll on her morale.
I know I must fight for Earth's sake. But what about Alkima's? Is there anything left worth salvaging of that galaxy…?
Upala Acropolis was bustling with activity that hadn't been experienced since the first days the survivors of the Opal of Culling had escaped their doomed galaxy. Everyone was highly alert and anticipating the invasion of Earth, with grey-garbed Sailor Soldiers under Upala's command sitting at numerous computer stations taking precise calculations in preparation for the attack. Upala herself sat in the captain's chair, decorated like a miniature version of her throne, and lithely crossed her slim legs.
"All preparations are complete, Mistress," one young woman reported. "The Apples of Discord are ready for launch at your command."
"Then do not delay. Overwhelm Crystal Tokyo with Lady Eris' minions so they can be greatly weakened before we infiltrate."
"Yes, ma'am."
She input the commands for the Apples to be fired in rocket-powered pods, which then snapped open and sent hundreds of golden apples flying towards Earth's stratosphere, streaking like miniature yellow comets. The apples writhed with dark energy and transformed into malevolent skull-like creatures that charged toward their prey like hungry animals. That was when Sailor Mercury's satellite artillery automatically detected the Apples' dark energy signatures and began firing countless lasers at them. It was an outright war zone between demons and machines.
"Heh heh," Upala chuckled. "A valiant effort, but it's nothing when Lady Eris can grow more Apples of Discord as she pleases. Isn't that right, my liege?"
"Of course," Eris' voice echoed throughout the command center, emanating from the dark roots of the apple tree she had been imprisoned within the main courtyard. Over the last 1000 years, the roots had crept through the dirt like blood vessels and took hold of any space they could occupy, even if it meant swarming into entire rooms. Eris used these roots as a way of observing anything and everything that went on throughout the palace so that she could take advantage of any discord she discovered among Upala's ranks.
The numerous Apples of Discord started to breach through the satellites, although a large number of them had been successfully destroyed. Upala was confident that her palace would continue forward with no further resistance… But that was when she noticed a gleam of colorful light over Crystal Tokyo. At first it looked like nothing more than a passing glint. As the seconds ticked by, the light became noticeably bigger as it shot through the sky and decimated any of Eris' monsters that had broken through the satellites.
"Your Majesty! A high-density energy wave is heading directly our way!" one of her servants frantically reported.
Upala jolted to attention when she heard this and barked, "Take evasive action!"
"We can't!" one of her enslaved Sailor Soldiers exclaimed. "It's only 10,000 kliks away and rapidly approaching at 2,000 kliks a second! Brace for impact, everyone!"
"Those pieces of scum!" the self-styled queen slammed her fist against the arm of her chair. Right when she did that, the rainbow laser struck the palace's barrier and caused the entire structure to shake violently. Everyone either fell to the ground or held on tightly to something to not lose their balance. Upala lurched forward off her chair and landed chin-first straight onto the flooring. Once the cacophony settled down, one of her male servants rushed to her side and healed her wound while asking in a panic, "Are you all right, Your Majesty!"
"Get off me, maggot!" Upala raged and shoved him off her.
"But you're-!"
"I SAID GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
He clammed up and skittered away as fast as he could while his leader regained her composure. She yelled in an incoherent rage, "Those wenches! How dare they scar my perfect face like this! I'll drag every last one of them into my torture chambers and have them experience true misery if it's the last thing I do!"
Eris' voice echoed in the hallways from the Tree of Discord, "My dear Upala, you must calm yourself before all else."
"But Your Greatness-!"
"A true Queen of Victory would remain composed and sure of herself, no matter the circumstances. Show Earth's guardians a hint of weakness and they will take full advantage of it."
"Yes… Yes, you're right. I lost myself for a second there…"
"How are our shields and propulsion systems?"
"Your Greatness, I regret to report that our shields are at 10%, and we've lost all power to our engines. Since we are in Earth's gravitational field, we are falling towards Crystal Tokyo rapidly," one of the servants at the computer reported. "If we don't slow our rate of descent, the impact will kill us all."
"Cut all power to shields and internal support systems, and redirect it to reverse thrust."
"But if we do that, we'll leave ourselves exposed to further attack!"
"That was Sailor Planet Attack. Indeed it is a truly powerful technique, but they expended a great deal of energy to use it. There is no fear of them firing a second one upon us."
"And the life support system?"
"We are well within Earth's atmosphere that we no longer need it."
"Of course! Redirecting all power to reverse thrust! Target destination is the bay just outside Crystal Tokyo!"
Upala sat back upon her throne and let out an exasperated sigh. Eris said, "See? Keep calm, and you will always prevail."
"Of course. I shall keep that lesson to heart, Goddess of Victory."
She thought she heard something akin to a woman's giggling and sharply turned her head towards her new Camarilla. They were all Sailor Soldiers who wore the same grey robes and bodysuits studded with gems. Upala spotted the one who was laughing and demanded, "Is there something funny, #51?"
"No, not at all, ma'am," the girl replied.
"Is that so? Then come here for a second. I want you to do a favor for me."
"Oh, really? What is it?"
The girl approached Upala, and the queen commanded, "Turn around."
"Like thi-? AAAH!"
The other Camarilla were not surprised when Upala cracked her magical whip against #51's back so ferociously that it split her entire body into half, killing her instantly.
"Phew. Needed to let out some steam, that's all," she retorted calmly, wiping the blood off her weapon. She pointed at the mess and ordered to the crowd, "Clean up that filth immediately."
"Holy smokes!" Chibi-Moon gaped in awe at the spectacle that just unfolded. After Sailor Planet Attack was successful in disabling the acropolis, she and Zarnik could finally see it falling from high above the clouds. It took about five minutes for the huge fortress to fall through the sky, but when it hit the waters of Tokyo Bay directly to the southeast of Crystal Tokyo, a monstrous wall of water exploded beneath and sent a massive tidal wave towards the evacuated city. A torrent of water swallowed the land for approximately one kilometer, submerging houses and businesses with no mercy. It would take several hours for the water to recede back into the bay.
In the distance, Chibi-Moon and Zarnik could now see the blood-chilling sight of Crystal Tokyo facing direct opposition from Upala Acropolis. The two palaces practically glared at each other with utmost hostility.
"She's here…" Zarnik whispered. "The witch who started all of this…"
Her eyes flared with repressed rage and hatred. Chibi-Moon was shocked to see her normally cool-headed friend look so vicious, but she fully understood where that loathing was coming from. Her heart pounded as she murmured, "The one that Mama's mama banished from the Silver Millennium all those years ago… The Goddess of Discord, Eris."
Zarnik suddenly felt compelled to look back at where the Sailor Quartet were fighting the Toxicum Soldiers. Her lips tightened together as she worried about what her former allies were going to do once they found out the true enemy was now on Earth's doorstep.