Chapter 18- New Power
One night, Haruka and I took Hotaru to the roof-top aquarium. It used to be our favorite date spot, and now it was our favorite family date spot. Hotaru was excited each and every time.
That night was just like any other night. The aquarium wasn't packed so Hotaru could see the tank from the stroller. People walked about, unaware of the doom that would soon descend on Earth once again. I thought I sensed something dark in the mirror earlier but it was gone. "Maybe it wasn't big enough to be captured by your mirror," teased Haruka.
As we walked out of the aquarium and entered the rooftop garden, the meteor shower started. Millions of stars fell through the dark sky. People slowed their pace and looked up at the stunning phenomenon. "It's beautiful," Haruka said as she put her arm on my shoulder. I smiled, even though I felt uneased by it. Why was it so many? Something didn't feel right about this meteor shower.
"Ouch!" "Something is in my eye." People around us were all saying the same thing. The ground was shimmering with tiny specks. I picked one up. It was glass.
Then, the tiny specks started to grow. Within seconds, monsters made out of glass surrounded the garden. People started fleeing and screaming. I quickly hid Hotaru in the bushes and I gestured her to be quiet. She looked at me with her all-knowing eyes, and she gave me a slight nod.
Pens out, Haruka and I transformed. We launched our attacks and watched the monsters crumbled into glass shards. Yet, as soon as they crumbled, each glass shard would grow into a new monster. Pretty soon, we were staring at a glass army. The more we killed, the more monsters we made.
"Neptune. This isn't working. What should we…." Before she could finish her sentence, one of the monsters body slammed into Uranus and sent her flying over the railings.
"Uranus!" I jumped over and I grabbed on to her hand. She was dangled in midair, 70 stories above the ground.
"Neptune. Behind you!" I used one hand and sent out a "deep submerge" to the army behind me. While they were reforming, I managed to pull Uranus back to safety.
"Dead scream." A familiar voice sounded in the dark. The rest of the army went down.
Shocked, we turned and saw Sailor Pluto smiling back at us. How was it possible? Her earthly body was destroyed in that helicopter explosion.
"It has been a long time. A thousand years to be exact. That was my punishment for stopping time," Pluto explained. "However, I saw dangerous twists in between time and space. I came back to help." Uranus walked over and gave Pluto a big hug.
Before I could join the happy reunion, a sharp cry came from behind the bushes. "Hotaru!" I turned and watched in horror as one of the monsters walked toward Hotaru. The three of us rushed over and was about to throw our attacks when we were knocked over by more monsters. Thud! One monster landed squarely on my stomach and it dug its glass claws into my shoulders. I let out an involuntary scream. I grabbed the monster and flung it over my head, ripping its claws out of my body. Blood gushed from the wounds, but I did not feel any pain then. "Hotaru!"
Too late, I thought. The monster's claws were already slashing out, millimeters away from the baby's very exposed neck. Just then, Hotaru opened her eyes and the Saturn symbol appeared on her forehead. A blast of light shot forward and the monsters disintegrated. The energy continued to spread and it wiped out the enemy completely. Then, a warm light descended on us and new power coursed through our bodies. We were transformed into super sailor soldiers.
A small figure emerged from behind the bushes. My baby was no longer a baby. Hotaru, who appeared to be around 3, still wrapped in her baby blanket, spoke her first words.
"The revolution is coming. The princess will be in danger."