A wave of dread washed over me as we swooped down through the clouds of Earth. The mass was glowing with electrical current sprouting from it. Lighting struck buildings of the city, causing them to collapse. People were screaming everywhere as the haunting laughter I had heard before filled the foggy air. Strange black humanoid creatures were running amuck, shooting energy at anyone nearby. I looked over Helio's side and saw my friends fending off the castle as best they could. The Outer senshi were fighting the humanoids just outside of the castle. Behind them stood the Inner senshi, holding hands and chanting something while bright lights covered the castle in a dome-shaped barrier. I hope Mom and Dad are alright, I thought as we drew closer to my home.
"Small Lady!" Sailor Pluto called out as Helios and I touched ground inside the barrier with his Pegasus. He helped me off and kept me close to him as the others looked on in amazement.
"Lady Serenity!" Diana cried out as she ran to me, my guardians behind her. She jumped into my arms and licked my chin happily.
"Where were you!" Sailor VesVes demanded. I could tell everyone was worried.
"I'm sorry, everyone. But Ilias tried to attack me and—"
"It's my fault, actually. I took her away from here for her safety. Hold me responsible." Helios interrupted me, bowing to my guardians.
"Hey…you're…you're Helios, aren't you?" Sailor CereCere asked. "You were held hostage by Queen Nehellenia?" He stood back up and nodded. The Asteroid senshi all gasped. They were under that queen's control when she kidnapped Helios from Elysion.
"Helios?" I heard the Inner senshi all say in unison, shocked.
"ChibiUsa! ChibiUsa!" My mother screamed from a distance and I saw her running out of the castle with m father at her side. She pulled me into a tight embrace, sobbing in relief.
"Mom…I'm alright…please let go…" I grunted. I pushed her off of me and took a few deep breaths.
"Helios? What are you doing here?" My father asked, as surprised as the others.
"He saved me from Ilias, Dad." I replied. "He knows what's attacking us."
"It's Chaos." Helios said. My parents' faces fell into shock and horror. It was silent among us for a moment as the truth sunk in; only the sounds of the Outer senshi fighting penetrated the barrier.
"Impossible…" Sailor Venus muttered.
"I knew this day would come," my mother said. "There was always a possibility that Chaos could come back."
"Do will we fight it? Does the plan we made before still apply?" Sailor PallaPalla asked.
"I have to fight it." My voice cut through the tension. Everyone looked at me. "That was the original plan, and the identity of the enemy doesn't change that. I'm the only one powerful enough to face it. It wants me, anyway."
"It wants you?" My father asked.
"Chaos wanted Sailor Moon in the past because she was such a bright and powerful star. But Maiden, erm, Lady Serenity is now the brightest star." Helios explained. The others looked at me in awe. I suddenly felt like the main attraction of a freak show.
"The brightest…" Sailor JunJun murmured.
"Star?" Sailor CereCere finished.
"Look, we don't have time for this. I need to get out there and fight!" I growled, sensing the urgency. The Outer senshi couldn't hold off those minions forever. My mother took my hands and smiled at me as tears rolled down her face.
"I'm sorry that I can't be the one to fight this time, ChibiUsa." Regret was in her voice as she spoke. I shook my head.
"It's alright, Mom. It's my turn to protect everyone."
"I believe in you, ChibiUsa." She said. "Mamochan, let's go." She let me go and pulled my father aside with her. He glanced at me lovingly as they walked over to the entrance doors of the castle and stood watch. I pulled out my compact from a pocket that was in my gown and closed my eyes.
"Pink Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!" Within seconds, my outfit changed and I felt my inner power surging through my veins. I held out my hand and concentrated. A burst of pink light erupted from my palm, forming into a crystal sword. Hesitation left me as I sprung into action, running through the barrier alongside my guardians and Helios, towards the humanoids.
I swung my word upwards at one as it lunged at me. The blade sliced through it with ease, and its remains fell to the ground. Smoke billowed from its remains. It was so easy to kill, but then I noticed why the Outer senshi were having difficulty. When one died, two more came towards me. I growled as I continued to slash at the creatures. I heard my comrades using their powers as well to fight. There has to be a way to stop this…I thought to myself. They began to swarm around me. These minions weren't giving me a free second to call out any attacks or anything! I started to back up towards the barrier from the sheer forcing of the onslaught. What was I going to do? They weren't letting up, and everyone else was facing their own troubles. Rage filled my insides.
Burning. My chest was burning up. Suddenly, a beam of light exploded through my bow and shot through the humanoids, disintegrating them in one swoop. I screamed angrily as I continued to fight. More beams of light shot out of me, killing the enemies in troves. I could hear the others making sounds of shock, but I ignored them. The rage inside me was getting stronger, as was the light.
"This all you got? Come on, Chaos! You can do better than this!" I taunted as I fought. I needed something better than this to fight. Come on Ilias, show yourself, I thought. Slicing through the remaining minions became too easy. My chest continued to burn as beams shot out around me.
"Impressive, Princess." The minions froze in place, making me stop. The black mass above us suddenly disappeared, revealing a bright blue sky. The beams of light dissipated around me as the burning sensation faded away. I caught my breath as fog formed in the middle of the crystalline battlefield. My eyes narrowed onto the fog. It formed into a body and faded away into Ilias. He wore a black one-piece suit with black boots. His eyes were piercing through me as his lips curled into a wicked grin.
"Ilias, this ends now." I said to him, holding my sword tightly in my hand. It was then I felt sweat running down my forehead. But I kept focused on my next enemy.
"You're not going to try and reason with me? That's no fun. Your mother was a much more delightful opponent." The mention of my mother made my muscles tense. Ilias wasn't real, after all. Just a shell for Chaos.
"Why reason with pure evil? If there's one thing I've learned, it's that things like you will never listen." Ilias's face darkened.
"Hm. You do have a point. Well, I guess we'll see who's better in the end." He spread out his arms and purple energy formed at his palms. "This will be fun. I'm going to run you down first, then take your heart away." I slid my leg back and held my arms out in front of me, grinning at him in a defensive pose.
"If you even get that far." I snapped at him. The energy came roaring at me through the wind, and I closed my eyes.
"Pink Crystal Shield!" I cried out as pink-tinted glass-like energy sparkled around me. The purple energy was deflected, flying off into buildings nearby.
"Princess, let us help!" Sailor PallaPalla called out to me.
"She must do this fight alone." I heard Helios say. Ilias huffed in frustration and I peered over to him.
"Nice little trick, Princess. How about you try shielding against this?" He snarled as the ground around me shook. I stumbled as purple energy sprung out of the ripples in the ground. I jumped around to dodge the attacks, and I heard Ilias laughing.
"Lady Serenity!" Sailor Uranus growled. "Damn you!"
"Shut up. You are all annoying me," Ilias shot them an angry glare and waved his hand. Blobs of black energy formed around the Outer senshi and Asteroid senshi, holding them in place. Before they could scream, their mouths were sealed shut. My eyes widened in horror as Ilias only laughed harder. All their sailor fukus began to disintegrate into ribbons as they detransformed under the attack.
"You're fun to play with, Princess." He observed. His fingers snapped and I watched on as electrical energy shocked everyone. Their muffled cries haunted my ears and I turned to him.
"They have nothing to do with this, and you know that. It's me you want, right? I'm right here. Take me! Enough of these stupid games." I called out to him. His eyes narrowed.
"I guess you're right. I've waited long enough." He ran towards me at an incredible speed. If I had blinked, I would've missed it.
His arms were like snakes as they slithered around me. My sword fell to the ground and my body felt like it was being crushed under his grasp. I screamed in agony as I felt him throw me across the battlefield. My side glided against the broken marble beneath me. Warm blood trickled down my arm and leg as I struggled to get up.
"Maiden!" I heard Helios cry as he tried to run towards me.
"Oh no you don't, Lover boy." Ilias quipped. In the corner of my eye, I saw purple energy shoot through Helio's side. His scream shattered my heart as he fell to the ground, limp.
"No! Helios!" I got to my feet, sensing something broken, probably a rib.
"ChibiUsa!" I heard my mother cry out from under the barrier in the distance. Ilias laughed hysterically and in a flash, he was behind me, holding me tightly against him. I could see my mother trying to do something, but my father was holding her back. The inner senshi looked pained, but they couldn't move, otherwise the barrier would be broken. He sneered and shot black energy around my castle, destroying the barrier. I watched as the Inner senshi collapsed onto the marble. My mother ran to them and my father held onto her. Ilias shot more energy through his fingers, wrapping thick ropes of black energy around my parents, knocking them to the ground. They cried out as they struggled to get free.
"Funny how this could turn in my favor so quickly, eh, Princess?" His voice was poison to my ears as his hot breath brushed against my skin. My eyes focused on Helios's body, and I saw blood forming around his wound. "You were never as powerful as Sailor Moon." Tears filled my eyes. Ilias's hand grabbed the compact on my bow. I winced in pain because the pressure pushed against the scar underneath. "Now to take what's mine."
"No! LET ME GO!" I cried, struggling to free myself. Was I really this weak? My outfit melted away into pink ribbons as Ilias started to laugh.
"Maiden…" I heard Helios whimper. My eyes froze as his body slowly got up. Blood soaked through his outfit and he held his side. "Believe in yourself…"
"Won't you die already?" Ilias said as he sent out electrical energy at Helios, knocking him down.
"Maiden…you have the power…to stop him…" Helios sputtered out blood and tried again to get up. My body was shaking under Ilias's hold.
I can't, Helios…I'm not strong enough…my mind thought as I felt defeated. I imagined this would go completely differently. I expected to be like my mother when she fought: strong, unrelenting, and determined. But within moments, my will crumbled. I really wasn't strong enough to fight Chaos.
"The power is so…unbelievable!" I heard Ilias say hungrily as he began to absorb the energy from my compact. The energy in my body weakened. I watched Helios as he got back to his feet.
"Please…I believe in you…" He coughed. I gazed at my friends as they still struggled against the shocking electrical holds on them. Their eyes were on me, and I could feel their stares boring into me.
"Why do you doubt yourself?" Helio's voice from before echoed in my head.
"We believe in you, Princess." Sailor Neptune's voice rattled behind his.
"I believe in you, ChibiUsa."
Mom…I thought. I know I'm better than this. Everyone…lend me your power….please…I pleaded in my mind. The burning in my chest returned.
"Princess!" I heard PallaPalla's voice in my head. Her forehead glowed as her sailor symbol appeared. Light blue energy shot from her and into my chest.
"I believe in you, Lady Serenity!" VesVes called out mentally, sending her red energy into me.
"You can do it!" JunJun's green energy flew from her forehead. I could feel myself growing stronger.
"Be the leader you know you are!" CereCere said as her light pink power entered me. Ilias growled as he sensed what was happening.
"NO. I won't let you do this!" He growled, trying to pull my crystal away, but it wouldn't budge.
"Small Lady, take our powers and awaken your own!" I heard Setsuna's voice reassuring me as the outer senshi sent their powers to me. A rainbow of energy from the inner senshi flew through the air as it entered me.
"ChibiUsa…you are my brightest star…" My mother's voice lovingly swooned inside my mind.
"Make us all proud, ChibiUsa." My father said. I saw silver and gold energy shoot through the air. They were using their own life force energy to help me.
I saw Helios's bloody face smile at me as he closed his eyes. Golden light flew from his own forehead and entered me while Ilias cursed hastily. Everyone's energy swirled within me, and I felt burning warmth inside my chest. I closed my eyes. Then, a bright white light exploded from my compact, stunning Ilias and shooting him away from me. When I reopened them, everything around me was white.