Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the canon characters. Miyako, Sarah, and several others are only figments that have escaped from my imagination.
Chapter Twelve: The Dark Crystal Fortress
"No more hiding. No more secrets. What happened in there?" Usagi demanded, jabbing her finger towards Sarah, not caring how much she was acting like Raye. "You know what I'm talking about. That panic attack I had to slap you out of!"
Just a few hours earlier…
Of course it had to be a trap, thought Serene Star, dodging another attack from one of Rubeus's droids. She wasn't sure exactly who the trap had been set for, the three of them or Petz. The eldest of the Ayakashi sisters had agreed to lead them through the maze of passages that creates the Dark Crystal Fortress.
The first thing to rouse suspicion was the relatively small amount of droids patrolling the halls. Surely there should have been more? Serene Star was sure she hadn't counted more than ten in the entire fortress. And, then, when they'd reached the room where Petz had been sure they'd find the reactor that connected it to Nemesis, it hadn't been guarded. At all. Of course, the reactor wasn't actually there, but there had been a small army of droids waiting for them.
"Enchanting Void!"
A blast of violet energy dissolved another droid, before it could land a blow. She managed a nod to Sailor Element, rolling and pushing herself back onto her feet.
A flash of silver cut through another droid, taken out by Moonlight Knight's curved saber. He dropped down in front of her, blocking another attack.
"Can you get to either of them?" He asked, not taking his eyes off their enemies.
She shook her head. "Not yet. I need a better opening." She moved to lift her bracelet to take out a droid, but he got there, first.
"Conserve your energy. You're going to need it, remember?" He insisted. "Let us handle this part."
Petz darted between the droids, trying to plead with her brother. Sardonyx stayed close beside her, knocking down droids with her Star Shards. The droids might not have been destroyed, but they were certainly down for the count, until they got swept up in another attack from Sailor Element or run through with Knight Aethyr's sword, crackling with black lightning.
"Haven't you done enough, Petz?" Emerald demanded. "You betrayed us. Why continue to cause yourself agony?"
A blast of dark energy slid off of Emerald's fan, slicing deep into the floor, mere inches from Petz. The woman had only missed because Sardonyx had grabbed her old friend and pulled her out of the way.
"And you, helping her. Have you no sense of loyalty to Nemesis? To your king? Foolish Chalcey!" Rubeus added, flinging an attack of his own.
"Chalcey?" Emerald stopped. "You never said Sardonyx was Chalcey!"
Her dark brown eyes seemed to lighten at the name.
"Emerald!" Sardonyx pushed back her bangs, the same way she had with Petz, Cal, and Rubeus. The white scar drew Emerald's attention. "Remember all the fun we had? The way things used to be, back in school? Before Iolite passed and Diamond inherited the throne? Remember how I had to trick you into admitting you'd finally gone on a date with him? How we fussed over Petz and helped her get ready for her big date with Sapphire?"
Emerald slowly lowered her fan. "We were all such good friends."
"That's right!" Petz agreed.
Rubeus growled. A blast from him sent them both tumbling to the floor. Before anyone realized it, he pulled a dagger and stabbed Emerald in the side.
"I can't let you betray our master, as well. Wiseman will rule everything!"
Another sharp dagger flew from his hand, towards Sailor Element. Knight Aethyr leapt in between, the dagger catching him between two ribs. The red-haired man let out a dark chuckle, taking off, farther into the fortress.
Sardonyx let out a small scream of frustration as the droids prevented her from following. A flick of her wrist had the scales in her hand once more. She spun, collecting her energy.
"Sardonyx Scale Strike!"
With all her frustration, the orb was larger than it had been, the first time they'd seen it. Instead of only being big enough to take out one droid, it had grown large enough to fill the room. Her blast took out the rest of the droids, as Serene Star hurried over to Emerald.
"Serene Healing Radiance!"
With the Dark Moon general injured, it was easier for the light of the attack to fill her, chasing out the darkness. There was a desire in her, one for peace and love, which spread, aiding Serene Star's power, as she pulled Emerald back. The yellow-green haired woman dropped to the ground, the last of the darkness gone, but the wound in her side remained.
At least this time, the attack hadn't drained her to the point that she couldn't maintain her henshin. She was still tired, but not exhausted. It didn't take long before Moonlight Knight was beside her, his arms wrapped around her.
"Take Emerald and get out of here," she ordered, though reluctant to let him go.
She knew they still had to take down Rubeus and destroy the reactor. The Dark Crystal Fortress had to fall.
Moonlight Knight shook his head. "I'm not leaving you to face him without me."
"Knight Aethyr is injured and he can't carry Emerald on his own. I need you to go with him. Please." She looked up at him, her blue eyes shimmering. "I don't want to separate from you, again, either. But the three of us are the only ones who can fight him. We can handle this. I promise. I'll see you soon." She pressed a hand to the side of his face. "Now, go."
Grabbing her, he pulled her close, pulling down the cloth that covered his face. He drew her in to kiss her, passing her as much energy as he could, along their bond. If he couldn't physically be with her, he'd do what he could to help. Turning, he carefully took Emerald from Knight Aethyr. Even wounded, he would be better in a fight than Moonlight Knight. Unfortunately, a transformation and a new costume was one thing, but he still didn't have much in the way of an offensive attack, aside from the saber in his belt. And, against these enemies, Aethyr's sword and powers would be more useful. Silently, he cursed his lack of powers, but he didn't argue further.
Sardonyx nodded. "Petz, guide them out of here. You don't have any powers at all. We never should have let you come."
Her friend opened her mouth to protest, but she must have seen something in the white-haired scout's face. She nodded and motioned for the two men to follow her.
It didn't take long for the three of them to find Rubeus. They just ran towards the place they felt the energy growing darker and darker. Thankfully, there were only a handful of droids with him, though no one knew when more would appear. This had to be done, quickly.
"Enchanting Void!"
"Sardonyx Scale Strike!"
Sailor Element quickly took out three of them, while Sardonyx's attack took out another, the sphere returned to its previous size, forcing her to take them out one at a time. Serene Star ran around the droids, dropping a few of them with well-placed kicks and punches, using her wand as a physical weapon, until she could reach Rubeus.
A series of Star Shards took down a few more, as she approached Rubeus and the reactor. She'd leave the latter to Sailor Element or Sardonyx. Her goal was saving another soul.
Dodging dark blasts from his hands, she reached for the power around her, not just within her. She drew on the courage from Moonlight Knight's energy, the kindness that was within her own heart, the generosity she could feel growing within Sailor Element. Even Sardonyx had energy that she pulled on, a strong sense of justice and an overwhelming sense of hope. But, she didn't take the shot, right away. All the energy was gathered, the wand charged, but she didn't attack.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sailor Element break away from the droids and run towards the reactor. With Rubeus focused on trying to stop Sailor Element, Serene Star drew a breath.
"Serene Healing Radiance!"
She let the light wash over Rubeus, fighting the darkness inside him. More power poured into her from Sardonyx and Sailor Element, feeling their hope grow. If only the dark energy flowing into the reactor would stop, she'd stand a better chance!
"Elemental Rose Tempest!"
Sailor Element directed the attack into the reactor. It exploded, just as Serene Star finally managed to fight out the last of the darkness. Her grip on her henshin wavered, but it held. Unfortunately, destroying the reactor wasn't as clean as they'd been hoping. Whoever had designed it made sure of that. It flew apart, a bomb set off by Sailor Element's attack.
Fire swirled around the trio of warriors and the now unconscious man. Sailor Element worked frantically to draw the flames into the Void, while Serene Star looked for anything that might help smother them. She spotted it, looking overhead. A pipe, carrying water, ran overhead. She could see the slow drip from a leak caused by the fight. If only they could widen it and bring the rest of the water down. But, her wand certainly wouldn't reach, and she wasn't about to risk an attack she didn't have the energy for. If that didn't kill her, she knew Darien would. But, she was sure, Sardonyx could use her Shards to cut it open. In fact, if she wasn't mistaken, that was probably what had cut the pipe open to begin with.
She turned to the other scout. Sardonyx had dropped to her knees, hands clasped over her ears. Her eyes were wide, but her gaze was unfocused.
"No! No! Papa! Papa!" She whimpered.
Smoke threatened to choke her. Blood trickled down the side of her face. She reached up one small hand to wipe it away, but more replaced it. Burning beams surrounded her. Where were her parents? Where was Auntie Topaz or Auntie Citrine? She couldn't find Uncle Carnelian, either. Or Uncle Iolite. Where was everyone? Why couldn't they hear her crying? Where was Nee-chan? Harmonia? Uncle Forseti? She was all alone.
A hand reached down and grabbed her forearm, spinning her around.
"Uncle Iolite!" She cried, happy to see someone who could get her out of here. But, something wasn't right. Uncle Iolite looked strange. He was always dressed in blue and white, but now there seemed to be a darkness, clinging to him, too. The white looked more like gray and the blue wasn't as bright as usual.
He chuckled. "Hello, little one. Why don't you come with me?"
"Leave her alone, Iolite!" A deeper voice called out.
She tried to twist away from Iolite, to get to the man who'd called out. "Papa! Papa, help!"
A shard of white light flew past her, striking Iolite's arm, and she was able to break away. She ran towards the man, dressed in a black suit, a white cravat at his throat, with a silver and burnt-orange stripe along its edge.
"Take her," he ordered, pushing her away, towards a woman with dark blue hair, sticking up all over the place. "Get her out of here."
"Understood, your majesty." The woman scooped her up and ran.
She struggled to try and get back to her father. She couldn't leave him there. She wanted her papa, not this strange woman she didn't know. "Papa! Papa!"
"Sardonyx!"
A sharp pain across her face pulled her back. She looked up into the concerned face of Serene Star, her hand still held up from slapping her across the face.
"I'm sorry," whispered Sardonyx. "I'm stronger than this. I know I am."
"We'll worry about that later. Can you send one of your shards up there, knock the pipe the rest of the way open, so we can get out of here?" The blonde pointed up to the leak.
Sardonyx nodded, slowly rising to her feet. The burnt orange shards materialized in her left hand.
"Star Shards!"
The tiny stones flew, up through the crystal, sending the water down to drench them all. Of course, it also had the added bonus of waking Rubeus. He groaned, putting a hand to his head.
"What hit me?"
"That's a long story," managed Sardonyx. "Let's get out of here, first."
Sarah glared at her. Turning on her heel, she stormed out of the room.
Azurite stared after her and sighed. "Perhaps it is best we start at the beginning. It wasn't all that long ago, maybe twenty-five years, at most…"
Alright. It took four tries to even begin this chapter, and, in fact, it took starting on the next one before I could even get it to play out right. So, took a bit longer than I expected. And I'm still not overly happy with it. I feel like I forced a lot of it. You'll have to let me know what you think. However, a big thanks to Whiteangel-2003 for reviewing chapter 10 for me, and pinkNina101 for reviewing chapter 11. I hope this chapter met expectations! I've already fought enough with it, I'm not going to try and figure out anything else. This is as good as it's going to get.
I really hate fight scenes, right now. I can't believe I put two of them in this chapter. (Goes and bangs head against wall for several seconds.) Alright, questions answered in the next chapter. It's already going better than this one. So, it should go up fairly quickly. Yay! If the rest of the chapters go like the next one, I should be able to get it done before the end of the summer! Maybe even before! Of course, the next arc will be taking place during the summer, which might help… Okay, I need to quit getting ahead of myself! Back to work!
Bookworm0913