Chapter 8-Sailor Princess

The night was dead quiet. Usagi ran through the deserted street and the only sound she could hear was her own wheezing. Never had she realized how hard it was to run through the city, without the backup of her senshi power...Her legs complained as she pushed through the pain. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, begging Usagi to stop and to take a breath. Usagi raced on...the dread she felt earlier was multiplying, there was no time to waste.

When she got to the destination, Usagi stopped dead in her tracks. It was the same lake. The lake where she was split into two...

Just then, a loud explosion sounded beyond the trees...Usagi took off towards it...

The air smelt of fire...and blood...Usagi stepped out of the clearing and gasped.

Her guardians, her senshi...gasping and bleeding on the ground. Neptune, Uranus and Pluto held the final line, struggling to fight...The once quiet lake was overran with cloaked figures. It seemed like hundreds, maybe thousands.

"Dead Scream." The purple energy radiated out and wiped out a big section. Usagi held her breath.

The figures reappeared after a few seconds, advancing with more savage. Usagi watched in horror as the collective dark energy they shot forward and sent Pluto hurling...

It was then she noticed a familiar figure. Serenity. She clutched her crystal, tightly in her hands...

Could she transform? She had to, it's the only way now...

Usagi dashed towards Serenity...dodging a few bolts of energy along the way...

"Serenity..." A bolt hit Usagi in the leg and she fell.

Princess whirled her head around and made eye contact. "Usagi. What are you doing here?"

"Serenity, you have to transform. You have to fight." Usagi tried to stand and fell back down. "I don't know if it'll work, but try...please..."

Serenity clutched the crystal tightly. She gave Usagi a small smile and then turned towards the enemy. "Moon Cosmic Power...Make UP!"

The figures stopped momentarily as a brightly light flashed through the dark night. The light cocooned Serenity in a protective shield as she drew power from the crystal...

Usagi took the opportunity to crawl close to her guardians. "Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus..."

Mercury was cradling Jupiter, who was barely conscious. She herself was bleeding from her abdomen. Venus held her dislocated arm and limped over. Mars was coming to and she struggled to sit back up...

"Usagi..." Mars' eyes shoot wide open. She grabbed Usagi's arm. "Get out of here. Get out of here...go..."

"No. I am not leaving. Everything will be okay. Look..." Usagi pointed towards Serenity.

The group looked on in awe at the figure that emerged from the cocoon.

Serenity appeared wearing the same Sailor Moon fuku. Except her bow was pink and she had a princess tiara on her head.

She calmly ascended towards the sky and raised her moon rod. The figures immediately flocked towards her...

"No. Princess..." Uranus ran towards her. "World Shaking..."

The shot killed a few figures, but the swarming around Serenity continued...

Suddenly, a brilliant light shot through amidst the dark swarm. Usagi shielded her eyes and looked away.

Screams pierced the sky as the figures disintegrated. Sailor Princess floated back down...

"We did it!" Usagi let out a yelp. She beamed and looked at her friends.

"No...something is wrong." Sailor Neptune positioned herself in front of Usagi. "Mars, do you sense it too?"

Mars winced as she stood up. "Yeah...I felt it."

"What?" Usagi frowned and looked confused. Why was everyone facing Sailor Princess?

"Princess Serenity. Can you hear me?" Sailor Venus took a tentative step towards her.

Sailor Mercury put her hand on Venus. "Wait. Don't approach."

"What is going on?" Usagi stood up and leaned on Mars for support. When she saw Sailor Princess, her face paled.

Serenity's eyes were dark as coal. Her crescent moon on her forehead had turned black as well.

She stood, perfectly still. The moon rod clutched tightly in her hands. Her face, emotionless...

"I think...oh my gosh...oh my gosh..." Sailor Mercury dropped to her knees and shook her head in disbelief..."This was a trap!"

"What? Tell me, Mercury." Venus clenched her fists. What the hell was happening to her princess...

"Those figures she killed..." Neptune lamented...

"They weren't killed. Somehow, they transformed and went inside of Serenity." Mercury put a hand over her face.

"What?" Usagi wailed. "No...what will that do to her?"

"Tsukino Usagi." Sailor Princess spoke. Everyone stopped in their tracks.

Serenity slowly raised her head and locked eyes with Usagi. She deliberately raised her moon rod until it was leveled with Usagi.

"DIE!"