Here's another chapter! Yeah, the final battle doesn't start in this chapter so I'm changing the title. You can see it below. The final battle WILL commence next week. So without further ado, here is the next chapter. Enjoy and R&R please!
~SXS
Seiya and Usagi Saved; Mission Free the Senshi Begins
Sometime later, I came to. All around me was pretty much dark, except for one corner of the stone room where there was a tiny window near the ceiling. I pressumed I was alone until I put a hand behind me and felt something. I jumped up from where I was and screamed. Turning to see what I had touched, I found Seiya. He was still out cold from the talisman being taken.
"Oh Seiya..." I whispered and my voice carried and echoed through the empty dungeon chaimbers. "This is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I had taken back the talisman while I could have. But I was too paralyzed with worry, I guess. And now, we're both trapped down here and you're probably going to...going to..."
The tears started coming and I buried my face in my hands. I leaned down near him and listened to his breathing and heartbeat, both of which were slow and a little uneven.
"What am I going to do?" I sobbed.
"I believe that I can help you with that," a new voice spoke from the darkness. I looked in the direction it came from and there was a small glow that grew into the form of a person. When the glow disappeared, I could see that the person was a senshi. She had an all white fuku, with a crystal and wings in place of a bow on the front. Her skirt had a rainbow on some of the pleats. Her hair was silvery white and was in my style, except with heart odango-atama. She also wore a cape and held a long staff. Finally, on her forhead was a crystal-like object.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I am Sailor Cosmos. We have met before, Sailor Moon. You once knew me as Chibi Chibi."
"You're the grown up form of Chibi Chibi?"
"Not exactly. When I came to the past as Chibi Chibi, I merely was using a disguise. I could not have existed in that time period in my true form. This time I come from the future of an alternate timeline. The time line we are now traveling...well let us say the future is not lookng quite well."
"But if you're not really Chibi Chibi, then who are you?"
"Believe me, Sailor Moon, you know me better than you would think. I have come to help you. At the present moment, you cannot use your Silver Crystal, am I correct? It is storing energy for your transformation to the queen of the future."
"That's right," I replied, feeling for my brooch. Then I gasped because the center of my bow was empty. "And I couldn't use it if I wanted to, anyway. Nenkaningen must have stolen all of our henshin tools."
"Indeed. But that does not mean that you cannot use this." She removed her crystal from the wings on her chest and stretched out her hand towards me. "This is the Cosmos Crystal, a source of great power in the future; even more powerful than the Silver Crystal. This will allow you to destroy Nenkaningen and his adversaries easily."
"Arigatou..." I said as I took it. Even just looking at it, I could feel the great power eminating from it. I looked up from it to see that she was no longer Sailor Cosmos. Her uniform had disappeared and now she wore a long silvery white gown and a golden tiara on her head. I assumed that meant she was part of the royal family but I had no idea who she was.
Suddenly, her attention was focused behind me. She gasped very slightly and peered around me. A light crimson blush adorned her cheeks. "Could that be Seiya? How long has it been since I saw him last? And still as handsome as I remember. But what is wrong that he is unconcious?"
"The talisman was taken from his body. It was part of his life force and without it, I don't know how long he'll last..." More tears stramed down my cheeks.
"Oh, yes, now I remember." She kneeled in front of him and started to whipser. "Oh, Seiya. I never got the chance to tell you in the time that we were together. And when you left, I was empty. How could I have been so foolish? The me of this time did not realize, though, how much she truly loved you, as I still do now." She listened to his heartbeat and breathing as I had. "Perhaps the kiss we never could share in that time will awaken you..."
She leaned forward and kissed him gently. For some reason, that kiss stirred a strange emotion in me. Was it jealousy? I tried not to think about it and waited for something to happen. For a moment, nothing changed, then he started to stir.
"Seiya!" we both cried out. The sound had a very strange ring to it and our voices almost blended into one.
His eyes opened and he sat up, looking around at the setting. "What happened?...Where..." he mumbled.
"Seiya, are you ok?" I asked.
"I...I guess. What happened?"
Before explaining, I threw my arms around him and squeezed him. "I'm so glad you're alright! I thought I would lose you forever! But I guess you really owe the thanks to-" I turned around and she was gone. "Sailor Cosmos?"
"Who?" Seiya asked.
"Sailor Cosmos. She was just here. She kissed you and I that's how you woke up."
"Are you sure you're not imagining things, Odango?"
I remembered the crystal in my hand and showed it to him. "I wasn't imgining it! Look." Seiya examined the crystal for a moment and said that I must have been telling the truth.
"But what are you supposed to do with it?" he asked.
"That's an excellent question..." The crystal glowed in my hand and pulsed with energy. The only thing I could think of to use it for would be to attempt to transform with it. "Why don't I try using it to transform?"
"Give it a shot."
"Moon Eternal, Make up!!" I cried, but nothing happened. "Great! Now we're really stuck. Why didn't she tell me how to use it before she left?"
"Well, you said it was the Cosmos Crystal, right? Why don't you try saying something with the word in it?" He may haave had a point there.
"Ok, uh...Moon Cosmic Power, Make up!!" But again nothing happened. "Dammit!" I started to cry again. "This is the end for all of us! I bet everyone's dead already! Why can't we just go back and change everything? Why do things have to be this way?"
"Hey, Odango, not everything is always going to go smoothly," Seiya said coming over to me and giving me a hug. "But you still can't give up hope just yet. We're still alive. We're still together." I looked up to him and he was blushing a little. I never realized before how cute he was.
"Seiya...Thank you...You're, you're the most important person in my life. I don't know what I'd do without you." This seemed to make him blush even more. "Come on. There has to be something that'll make this thing work. Maybe something simple like Cosmos Power?"
The light of the crystal blazed in my hand. The whole room was lit in its shine and I had to close my eyes. I felt myself be lifted from the ground and changed into a new fuku. It had the same puffy sleeves, long gloves, and wings of my eternal fuku, but it had the rainbow pleats and staff of Sailor Cosmos's fuku. The main piece was silver.
"Wow!" Seiya said. "So what are you now?"
"I guess I'm...Sailor Cosmic Moon." I struck a pose. "Now what do we do? We're still locked in here."
"Leave that to me," Seiya said standing. He felt in his pockets for his henshin tool but soon realized it was gone. "My henshin tool!! They took it!!" He proceeded to mutter some curses. "Fine then. I guess I'll have to do it without transforming."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"They'd never find where I hid my Star Yell. As Fighter I can get it whenever I want but as Seiya I have it hidden in a special spot. You...might wanna close your eyes." That was convincing enough for me. When it was all clear, Seiya called out, "Star Serious Laser!!" and the bars of the cell were destroyed.
"Wow! How did you do that?"
"I was trained by the best. Come on!" He took my hand and we ran through the halls of the dungeon.
--
Shichigatsu and Shinju stood before their leaders in high confidence. They had found the talisman and captured the Sailor senshi all at once. And with the three prisoners already locked up, everything looked good for them.
"Shinju and Shichigatsu," Nenkaningen started. "You two have done excellently. You brought the Kinmotsuai No Tier to me and you made it easy to wipe out the Sailor senshi."
"Indeed," Rekigetsu agreed. "You should be greatly rewarded." Tanjouseki nodded also.
"And that is why it is quite a shame that you must be eliminated," Nenkaningen said to the shock of the other two leaders and the followers.
"B-B-B-But Nenkaningen-sama! We did nothing wrong to be eliminated!" Shinju objected.
"SILENCE!!!!! You used my crystal. You could have been plotting against me for all I know. You have been given explicit instruction from the moment I recruited you to NEVER touch my crystal," the big leader boomed.
"Nenkaningan-sama, may I ask how you could possibly know that we were using the crystal?" Shichigatsu asked as calmly as he could.
"You left my crystal following Shinju when you were attacking the Sailor senshi. How else would I have known exactly when to come to retrieve my treasure?" At this, Shinju smacked Shichigatsu's arm for his carelessness. "You leave me no choice."
"Wait a second, Nenkaningen-sama," Tanjouseki spoke. "It seems that they only had intentions of using the crystal as a part of their mission. Must you truly exterminate them?"
"Do not object, or you will be next!!" Tanjouseki and Rekigetsu looked their minions who pleaded with their eyes. They both solemnly shook their heads to the condemned.
"Prepare to die!!" Nenkaningen summoned a giant Koyomi which charged up and became a bright white.
"It looks like this is the end, my love. PLease just remeber the times we shared and love me in the after life," Shichigatsu said to Shinju.
"Oh, Shichigatsu, I wish we had more time. I will always love you, my dear." The two embraced and readied themselves for their fate. Just as it was about to fire, Tanjouseki and Rekigetsu cried out.
"STOP!!"
They both got up and got in front of their followers. "If you want to kill them you have to kill us too," Tanjouseki said.
"Indeed," Rekigetsu agreed. "It isn't fair. They did nothing that terribly wrong."
"Well, if you put it that way," Nenkaningen seemed to consider. "I GUESS YOU ALL DIE!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!" And he recharged the Koyomi which blasted the group of four all at once. The three prisoners were watching the entire thing and knew that if given the chance, those four could have been good. Nenkaningen, however, was too far gone.
The four had been disintegrated and only Nenkaningen and the prisoners were left in the room. "Tanjouseki...Rekigetsu...The fools! They were always to soft-hearted with their workers. I will make a better leader on my own!" He took the talisman off of the pedistal it was perching on. "Come, my beauty, and we will destroy the future. To Crystal Tokyo, soon to be Nenkaningen-sama's World!! Ah, but first, Gogatsu! Oparu!"
A pair of shadowy figures stepped forward. "Hai, Nenkaningen-sama?"
"Guard the Sailor senshi and make sure none of them try to escape or attack. Understood?"
"Hai, Nenkaningen-sama." The bowed and backed out of the room.
--
Ami's eyes fluttered open to the scene around her. All of her friends and fellow senshi were hanging in chains by their wrists. Below them, there was no floor, only water, and who knew what creatures may be in it.
On her left was Taiki and on her right was Makoto. Both of them, like the rest of the circular room, were unconcious. She didn't think that they would survive in this place much longer, even if hey could escape the chains. Then she remembered that she could freeze the water with her attack and they would land on something solid.
"Mercury Crystal Power, Make up!!" she cried but nothing happened. "Shimata!" She realized that they must have taken her henshin tool, and probably everyone else's too.
It was no use trying to figure out an escape alone. She nudged Taiki's leg with her foot. "Taiki-san. Taiki-san, wake up!" He stirred sightly but not fully. She turned to Makoto and did the same. "Mako-chan wake up!" But it was no use. "What should I do..."
--
Seiya and I ran through the corridors looking for everyone else. So far, every dungeon room we passed was empty. Luckily, no guards were around, and the place was so old the booby traps were all broken.
"Seiya...what if their...not with us anymore?" I gulped.
"Have some faith, Odango, I mean, Cosmic Moon. I think they're still around." We continued running.
After a bit, I heard a faint calling. "Taiki-san, wake up...Mako-chan, wake up!" My heart jumped with new hope.
"Seiya, did you hear that?"
"Yeah. Taiki and Makoto are still alive then. And whoever is with them." We ran even faster.
"Hello?" I called out. "Hello!"
"Usagi-chan? Usagi-chan, this way!" It sounded like Ami. We told her to keep calling to us until we could find her. Finally, we came to a round room where everyone was hanging on the wall by their wrists.
"Ami-chan!" I went to run for her since there was no door in the way of the cell but Seiya pulled me back.
"Wait a second! Look," he said and pointed to the missing floor. I had almost stepped into alligator-infested water.
"Yikes! Thanks for the save." I looked at the round wall and saw that everyone was unconcious except Ami. "Ami-chan, how can we wake them up. More importantly, how can we rescue you?"
"You cannot," a new voice sounded from behind us. Seiya and I turned in shock to see a little girl. She had long light brown hair in two pigtails that went high above her head. They were heald in place by long coils that went from the top of her head to almost the ends. She had on a denim jumpsuit with a rainbow shirt underneath and rainbow socks. Her shoes were black Mary Janes.
"Who are you?" I asked, captivated by her white eyes that sparkled in every color.
"I am Oparu," she said, and her voice seemed to deep for her age. "I've been trapped here by Nenkaningen for ages, ever since I can remember. The man who came to feed me today forgot to close my chaimber door, so I escaped. Who are you?"
"I am Sailor Cosmic Moon and this is Seiya. And those are my friends and they need help!" She considered them for a moment then pondered something for another moment.
"I think I may be able to help you. I know where the keys are kept. With your help we can retrieve them and save your friends. As for the water, I am not quite sure."
"If I could have my henshin tool, I could freeze the water. But Nenkaningen stole it. Do you have any idea where it may be?" Ami asked.
"Yes, I believe I do. Yes. Let us quest for yonder freedom!" Oparu led the way and Seiya and I followed. I promised Ami we wouldn't be too long. I just hoped that this was a turn of events for the better.
Hehehe, sorry Usagi-chan, but with the leader you have right now, it's not looking too good. Don't worry, because everything will continue next week! Here's the preview for chapter 9:
Seiya and Cosmic Moon are being led by Oparu, but they don't realize where they're really going. Ami's still alone with a bunch of unconcious senshi. Can she wake any of them up in time to help? Can Seiya and Cosmic Moon defeat these last two baddies and get to Nenkaningen? And what's going on with Pluto, Kakkyu, and Mamoru? All this and more in Oparu's Trap; The Final Battle Commences. Until next time remember, destiny is not written in stone.