"Lady Serenity! Lady Serenity! You're late!" Diana's screeching woke me up. I sprung upwards, faintly noticing the wetness on my pillow. Diana fell backwards and scrambled back to her little feet. "Mars is going to yell at you!" I jumped out of my bed and hustled to get some normal clothing on. The easiest thing to put on was a slip-on sundress that was a basic shade of purple, with thin straps. I slid my feet into sandals and ran outside to meet my trainer.
"You promised you wouldn't be late! I thought you were better than your mother!" Sailor Mars's voice shivered through my bones as I gulped for air, exasperated.
"I am so sorry! I had trouble sleeping…" I managed to squeak out. I looked at her and immediately wished I hadn't. Nothing was scarier than her voice, outside of her face. It was warped into that of a monster-like scowl. Her arms were tightly crossed at her chest and her red high heel was smacking the ground with irritation. She huffed at me.
"Transform. There's no time to waste today," she growled. "I only have so much time before the others snag you away for party preparations." Without hesitation, I pulled out a small compact. It was bright pink, with swirls of gold and silver around the top, outlined into multiple hearts. I pressed a small button on the side and held it into the air, closing my eyes.
"Pink Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!" I summoned, feeling my clothing melt away into thousands of small pink ribbons. My feet were covered by knee-high pink boots while my arms were covered by a pair of white gloves with pink accents at my elbows. The ribbons at my torso formed into a white leotard and a pink miniskirt fluttered across my waist. A long, dark pink bow appeared at my chest, where my compact sat in the center. At my lower back, another dark pink bow formed. A pink, sailor-like cloth draped around my shoulders and down my upper back. A golden tiara appeared across my forehead; a pink crescent moon symbol at the center. Pearls wrapped around my neck and pearl barrettes clipped into my hair. Dark red spheres appeared within my buns while pink crystal earrings locked into my ears. I took a deep breath as my transformation finished. "Ready!"
It felt like hours had gone by. Sailor Mars had me running around the field by my castle doing ridiculous stretches, flips, rolls, jumps, crunches, and lunges. After those, she started me in practice with my crystal's powers. I learned over the centuries that I had incredible powers, including creating shields with my crystal, summoning a sword made out of pure crystal, minimal healing skills, and using my life force to give others power. Sailor Mercury told me once that I could be more powerful than my mother and father combined, if I worked hard enough. My crystal was highly concentrated with the silver crystal that belonged to my mother, and it also had some slivers of the golden crystal, which belonged to my father. I really wanted to prove myself as a strong warrior and a true lady to everyone. Living in my mother's shadow was very daunting.
"Get your head out of the clouds, Sailor Chibi Moon! You're just as bad as your mom sometimes!" I heard Sailor Mars scream angrily as I zoned out once again. I caught myself before I could crash into the nearby garden from running. I wiped my brow in relief and sighed, ignoring the sweat. My body shifted back towards my trainer.
"Sorry!" I yelped and bowed.
"Sailor Mars! Lady Serenity! Hurry! There's trouble!" I heard Luna gasping as her small feline body appeared beside Mars.
Trouble…I repeated the word in my head. We haven't experienced trouble in thousands of years! What could possibly be happening? I hurried back over to the two of them, instantly feeling my stomach sink at the sight of Sailor Mars's expression.
"Let's go. The queen needs us!" Sailor Mars said before running back into the castle. I gave Luna a nod and followed.
Everyone sat at the dining table with worry caked onto their faces. I couldn't remember the last time they all looked so emotionally destitute. My mother held her head in her hands as my father held onto her shoulders.
"What's happening?" I asked, holding my breath a little. My mother looked up and her tearful eyes seemed to go right through me. She was sobbing too hard to respond. My father looked at me with his own sad eyes.
"A strange dark mass has appeared not too far from Crystal Tokyo," he started. My mother grasped one of his hands, holding it tightly. "Apparently the mass isn't one of a kind; there are others like it around the planet. People have been trying to attack it, contact it, whatever they can. Anyone who has tried…has been absorbed into the mass." My eyes widened. Absorbed?
"They just appeared moments ago, and I can't get a clear enough reading on what they are made of, where they come from, or if anyone is controlling them." Sailor Mercury said solemnly. Her visor was over her eyes and she frantically was trying to calculate equations on her small computer. My heart began to race.
"What about the Silver Crystal? Can't it do something?" I asked with hope. It was always able to do something in almost every battle I was in as a child, as well as any battle Mom was involved in. I heard my mother sob harder. My father shook his head.
"It's not as strong as it once was, unfortunately. When it gave everyone immortality, it lost its own core strength. Usako already tried as soon as she heard."
"It won't even react anymore…." Mom whimpered between sobs.
"What about mine? Wouldn't it be powerful enough?" I held a hand against my compact at my chest.
"You haven't mastered your crystal yet, Lady Serenity." Sailor Jupiter said. "We aren't sure if it would be safe for you to try and use it that way." I grimaced.
"I have to try! Mom can't transform anymore, which makes me next in line to fight for the planet!" I yelled, feeling rage. I had to do something! I saw my father's hands tighten against my mother's shoulders. She looked up at me again, sniffling. She forced a smile.
"You've grown up so much, ChibiUsa. I'm so proud of you," she said softly. "I believe in you." I smiled back at her. At least someone in this room had faith in me.
"I believe in you too! I'm not gonna sit here and wait for some weird blob to attack this kingdom!" Sailor JunJun exclaimed.
"She's right. We need to figure something out before it gets worse." Sailor CereCere mentioned.
"I think I order to get any better information, we need to get closer to the mass…" Mercury said.
"I don't think that will be a problem…" Artemis muttered. I noticed that his gaze was focused outside through the window. My head turned and I saw a growing blackness filling the sky nearby. Everyone in the room gasped in union as our beautiful sky was eaten up by the strange mass, making the day morph into night.