PRETTY SOLDIER SAILOR MOON: FUTURE
Chapter 66: Moon Kingdom's Holy Legacy
Chibi-Moon clenched her teeth angrily. "So you're the one behind all of those attacks, aren't you!?"
"My, such a scary face from one so young. But you and your mother only have yourselves to blame for not surrendering the Silver Crystal to me. If you had, I wouldn't have persisted in sending the Camarilla and Erisians after you."
"Don't be absurd! Why would I want to give the Silver Crystal to someone who deliberately destroyed Alkima!?"
"That's where you're very wrong. You are very fortunate to have such dedicated warriors wishing to protect the Royal Family from harm. I'm sure you can't imagine it, but Alkima had hundreds upon hundreds of worthless Sailor Soldiers vying for ultimate control over everyone else's planets. They wanted to be the equivalent 'Royal Family that would have Sailor Soldiers protecting it' just like yours. Who wouldn't sacrifice their pride, dignity, and loyalty for such power? Lady Eris' Victory Crown was the opportunity we needed to settle these petty disputes once and for all. After all, weeds must be removed in order for the wheat to grow properly."
Chibi-Moon was utterly disgusted at the thought. Upala continued, "I was once a Soldier who lost her battle to Sailor Bijou, and was forced into her little Bijou Sailor Soldiers team. She believed in things like teamwork, friendship and unity, all while violently subduing her would-be 'comrades' into becoming her allies. I had no choice but to go along with that hypocrite's flowery ideals until Lady Eris came along. Once she granted me her power, I showed that revolting sham of a Soldier the idiocy of her beliefs! I'm sure she's regretting her decisions while toiling away in the Galaxy Cauldron right now!"
Upala cackled manically, overjoyed over experiencing the memory of destroying Sailor Bijou, thereby freeing herself from the shackles that bound her. Once she stopped laughing, she told Chibi-Moon, "That's why you're wrong, and I'm right, princess. I needed to bring about the death of the old Alkima Galaxy – to cull its spiteful existence from the face of this universe. From there, I will herald Alkima's successor into a glorious age. The Victory Crown ensures my dominance, but I need the Silver Crystal to lay the foundations for a new galaxy to rise from the ashes of Alkima's destruction..."
She raised her hands and declared, "The advent of the Upala Galaxy!"
"You're kidding me…" Chibi-Moon was at a loss for words. There was no way she could reason with someone so insane and egotistical.
"Ah, perhaps I should say this now, but we really are alike, aren't we?" Upala gestured to her.
"How!?"
"The Silver Crystal and the Victory Crown… Both of them are tools that grant us incredible power. That's why we are rulers over so many weak Sailor Soldiers, and why they have no choice but to serve us."
Chibi-Moon grit her teeth and glared daggers at her opponent. She had a thousand things she wanted to say to this madwoman, but she knew it would be a waste of her time. She also needed to think about protecting the exhausted Zarnik from Upala's rampage. Chibi-Moon decided to use her energy to battle rather than argue pointlessly. She brandished the Pink Lady's Regalia and stood in front of Zarnik, prepared to fight with everything she had.
"Seems like I hit a nerve, huh, Small Lady?" Upala sneered at the princess' name, then created a sparkling multicolored whip in her hand and said, "Good, good. It would be boring for me if I didn't earn my victories through brute submission and honest subterfuge. True leaders need reasons other than almighty tools to inspire fear in their subjects."
"I've heard enough! It's time you faced justice for your crimes against humanity! HAAAH!"
Chibi-Moon jumped towards Upala, but the self-claimed queen lashed her whip numerous times to unleash a flurry of colorful light projectiles at her. Chibi-Moon shouted, "Pink Lady's Heart Barrage," and sent an equivalent number of pink hearts to neutralize the projectiles while she flew straight for Upala. She raised her arm and pressed her fingers against the largest gem on the Victory Crown to activate a thick golden laser. Chibi-Moon twirled her rod in the palm of her hand to create a pink barrier that blocked the laser. Chibi-Moon swung her weapon down as hard as she could, but Upala boredly blocked it with her arm. Out of the corner of her eye though, she noticed Zarnik aiming her bow and arrow at her back.
"Tch!" Upala snarled in irritation and magically controlled her whip to ensnare Chibi-Moon's arm, then pull her around and toss her right in Zarnik's path. Luckily the archer didn't shoot, or she would have hit her comrade instead. Chibi-Moon regained her balance and landed on her feet, then used the force to leap back up and fight Upala once more.
"Aurora Halo!" Upala called out and thrust another rainbow-like halo of slicing energy from her whip. Chibi-Moon tried to bat it aside in fury, but it looped aside suddenly and recoiled back toward her like a boomerang. She jerked her shoulder aside in time, but it nicked her upper arm like a razor. It returned for a second shot at slicing the girl into pieces, and Chibi-Moon had to duck her head aside. Some of her pink hair was sheared off, while the projectile came back for a third attempt.
"Dew of Death," Zarnik chanted and fired a charged arrow right at Upala's attack, making it explode.
"Thanks! Take care of the rear for me!" Chibi-Moon exclaimed and pursued the Animus Syndicate's leader once more.
Zarnik wanted to say something, but realized that she couldn't. The battle was bringing back unpleasant memories of her working together with the Toxicum Sailor Soldiers in similar battles such as this. Chibi-Moon's words reminded her of all the times either Sailors Kanos, Nabar or Mangar would tell her to protect them from a distance, and that Kadmas would join her in strategizing on how to defeat more difficult enemies.
Why has it come to this…?
Why the heck was she asking herself this now, of all times? Perhaps the nostalgia of working together with someone she could trust clashed with the suspicions she had of everyone around her. Zarnik wanted to believe in her old friends. She wanted them to see how wrong they were, and to abandon their insane cause and fight to protect Earth. But at the same time, she remembered how Kanos made that awful revelation:
"It took approximately 1000 years."
An entire millennium of being cryogenically frozen and floating in outer space, with no way to contact the outside world until she reached Earth. During that whole time, how badly did the other Toxicum Soldiers actually suffer while working as Upala's minions? They had witnessed the complete demise of their home galaxy and lived with those wounds in their hearts for centuries, while she had not. Could Zarnik ever understand where they were coming from? If she saw what Alkima looked like now, would she come to the same conclusion as them and desperately try to bring back what was lost?
Sure, she was cooperating with Neo Queen Serenity and Earth's protectors to defeat the Syndicate. But then what would she do afterwards? Would she go back to Alkima and try to fix things, or would it be meaningless? Would she stay on Earth and risk wallowing in despair over what she could have done for Alkima? Or would she just turn her back on it all and find some sort of new life for herself? Would she even survive this battle to begin with? It made Zarnik think of her ancestor, who had fled from the harsh life he lived as an aspect of Chaos, trying to live as a hero when his lineage was one of pure evil.
Lord Arsen… What would you do in this situation?
"Look out, Zarnik!" Chibi-Moon's voice suddenly snapped her out of her morose trance.
"Eh?"
"GOT YOU!" Upala screamed as she flew straight for the bewildered archer. Chibi-Moon had been badly battered with whiplashes, although Upala had some wounds of her own as well. Zarnik spontaneously jumped away clumsily from Upala's whip as it shot straight down and pierced the ground where Zarnik had been. Chibi-Moon tackled Zarnik aside from another crack of the whip, and it lashed against her back with a sickening snap.
"KYAH!" she shrieked. Zarnik noticed a small spurt of blood spray out of Chibi-Moon's flesh, and she widened her eyes in fright. They both collapsed to the ground, and Zarnik yelled, "Hang in there, Chibi-Usa!"
"Unngh…"
Upala retracted the whip cord and wrapped it around one of her hands. A small drop of Chibi-Moon's blood dripped off the tip and splattered next to her feet.
"Now then," she began ominously, "are you going to give me the Silver Crystal while you're still alive, or when you're dead, Small Lady Serenity?"
With the eight planetary Sailor Soldiers busy fortifying Crystal Tokyo with their combined powers, Serenity and Endymion, along with the three feline advisors Luna, Artemis and Diana were the only ones who could watch the two concurrent battles occurring within the city upon the computer room's large monitor.
"The Quartet seem to have things under control with the Toxicum warriors," Artemis reported. "But I didn't expect the Syndicate's own leader to come out and challenge Small Lady herself!"
"She wants the princess' half of the Silver Crystal, or perhaps she wants to hold her ransom for the queen's half," Luna reasoned. "I'm also worried about what the rest of their forces are doing. Are they waiting for us to be weakened before sending in their main army?"
"You can do it, Small Lady!" Diana cheered, watching her owner courageously fight Upala.
Serenity clasped her hands in anxious prayer, hoping that her daughter would be victorious. Endymion was also worried for his child, but he also noticed how listless Zarnik appeared. The archer looked to be lost in thought, which was unusual considering how sharp her focus during combat normally was.
What's going on? Why is she just standing there?
He faced the other monitor where the Toxicum Soldiers had revealed their Sailor Soldier identities.
Could it have something to do with them?
"Small Lady!" Diana shrieked in horror. It was when Upala whipped Chibi-Moon's back and sent both her and Zarnik tumbling to the ground. The others gasped, fearing that they were going to witness a brutal double murder.
The crystal encasing the castle began to shine bright on its own volition. Serenity yelped, "What is this!?"
"What's happening!?" Luna demanded.
In a chamber below, the Inner Sailor Soldiers were focusing on keeping the barrier active. Sailor Venus felt a twinge in her soul as she recognized the energy that was being channeled through the crystal.
"This feeling… I know it!" she whispered.
"Venus?" Jupiter asked.
"It's shining once more. The holy sword of light, made to protect the princess…"
"No way!" Mars exclaimed. "I thought it had been sealed deep within the castle, never to be used again!"
"It's awakening… It's sensing the princess' peril…"
"Wasn't it made to only protect Princess Serenity during the Silver Millennium?" Mercury wondered.
"It lives to protect the princess. No matter what age it is, it is a holy weapon of protection. And now it has returned to uphold its mission," Venus murmured.
The castle shook violently for about a minute as the light engulfing the shining mineral intensified. Then they all heard a loud crash like glass shattering, and the glowing ceased.
"DIE!" Upala screeched, swinging her whip for what she hoped would be the killing blow to both Chibi-Moon and Zarnik.
Something pure white sliced through Upala's attack and made it explode between the warriors, sending them careening away from each other. Chibi-Moon and Zarnik covered their eyes until the blinding brightness subsided, and when they looked up again, they found a silver longsword with a golden crescent-shaped hilt in front of them. It floated toward Zarnik and shimmered, beckoning her to take it.
"What is this?" she asked.
"That must be the Holy Blade," Chibi-Moon explained. "A legendary sword used by Sailor Venus during the Silver Millennium to protect the Moon Kingdom's princess, that being Mama back then. It's been sealed within the palace's depths for untold centuries, so this is my first time seeing it. Mama told me it would only appear if the princess was in danger."
"I see. And now that you're the princess, it has responded to your peril," Zarnik said, grasping the sword. It didn't feel any different from a regular sword, but she could sense something indescribably powerful emanating from the blade. She thought despondently, But why me? There's plenty of other Soldiers who can protect the princess. After all the trouble I've put Chibi-Usa through, I couldn't possibly…
"Ghh!" Upala trembled with fury, alerting the duo. "One thing after another! Why must there be so many obstacles in my way of obtaining the Silver Crystal!? Does no one in this world recognize my inherent right to wield its power!?"
Zarnik watched Upala rant, and then held the Holy Blade firmly before her.
No, I shouldn't doubt myself. It's time for me to be the Sailor Soldier I've always wanted to be.
"Sailor Chibi-Moon…" Zarnik whispered. "No, Princess Small Lady Serenity. Stay as far back as you can. I will fight this woman to the death."