Time
Alia flew up into the sky if she was going to do this she needed reinforcements and a healer her head still hurt and her vision was still a little bit blurry, she need to stop and get tended to so she flew in the direction of the nearest human village. She thought of Sera and her betrayal 'how could she do this to me' she thought 'after everything that we have been through' her anger boiled as she came in for a landing just outside of a small village. She folded her wings and walked the rest of the way until she found a healer who could tend to her needs. She knocked on the door and waited, and elderly man answered the door.
"Yes, can I help you?" said the old man
"I need tending to" the man opened the door wider to let her pass Alia walked through the door and stood in front of a small table clearly expecting the old man to get on with the examination.
"Sit" he instructed to a small work bench next to the table. She did as instructed and sat, the old man walked to a large cabinet on the other side of the room.
"Now, what seems to the the problem" asked the healer
"What does it look like" Alia snapped at the old healer as she rubbed the back of her head, but he simply smiled serenely and took a look at her injuries. "You need stitches and you have a mild concussion; I suggest you rest for at least a day"
"I have no time to rest" she snapped again
"And if you don't rest, your situation could be a lot worse"
"What part of I don't have time do you not understand"
The healer tried to reason with her, but she would not budge Alia left the village and took flight again, but she didn't get very far before she lost consciousness and plummeted back down to the earth. Alia tried to stand but she suddenly felt very weak and dizzy, her world was spinning and she suddenly lost consciousness.
North Woods (Lunaris)
"Artemis where are you going" asked Luna exasperated
"Here" said Artemis coming to a stop
"A cave" said Luna unimpressed
"Not just a cave, this cave leads to the old catacombs underneath the city surely there has to be a way into the temple from here"
"How do you know about this Artemis" asked Luna
"Sometimes I get a little restless, so I go hunting for mice" was his only explanation
"And you are sure that we can get to the temple from here"
"I don't know, it's just a hunch these tunnels run all over the city maybe there is a way to get in from here"
"Then lead the way" said Sera
Artemis took a few tentative steps towards the cave entrance "What's the matter?" Asked Luna "Nothing"
"Then come on then" and just like that all three entered the cave and made their way across the twist and turns until the arrived at a large three-way intersection "Which way now?" Asked Luna
"Three diverging paths, which do we take?" Asked Sera
"Maybe we should just take one at the time and see where it leads"
"There's no time Alia could be here already"
"No, we each take one Artemis you take the right, Sera you take the left I'll take the middle"
"What happens when one of us reaches the temple?" asked Sera "Do we double back and get the other two or…?"
"When we get to that bridge, we'll cross it, but we can't waist to much time lets go"
"Won't you need a light? Asked Sera
"Cats remember" said Artemis
"Right"
And with that they each took off in a different direction with Sera holding up the torch to light her way 'I don't know if you can hear me but please forgive me my transgression against your people I should have stopped her, but I didn't. If anything happens to the guardians it will all be my fault forgive me goddess, forgive me Jupiter' she thought to herself in regret.
Alia woke up with a startling fright she didn't know where she was or what happened, she looked up at the changing colors of the sky "Damn" she said it was almost night time she need to get going but first she need to figure out where she was and how far from Lunaris she was. She knelt down on the ground and prayed 'Oh great Metaria give me the strength to take out the guardians', but her prayer went unanswered she still felt weak and dizzy and slightly nauseated she was just about to pass out again when a cloaked figure dressed in black appeared from the shadows "Poor little dragon doesn't know what to do?" Said the figure "Betrayed by one so close, let you anger guide you to your destination" the figure said while padding her head. Alia hissed at the pain in the back of her head "Don't worry little dragon I'm here to help" said the figure as she placed the palm of her hand around Alia's wound. Dark energy surged from her hand healing Alia's wound and restoring her health. "There little dragon you are ready to take flight" said the figure as it disappeared into the shadows. Alia smiled and unfurled her wings and took off. 'Let your anger guide you to your destination' she thought back to what the dark stranger said and focused her anger on Sera and on Jupiter she immediately knew where to go.
Lunarian Temple…
Jupiter sat on her throne still in repose along with the other guardians when suddenly Jupiter's hand twitched and her eyes fluttered. "It's time" said a voice "wake up, wake up it's time, rise up guardians the fighting is just beginning" said the voice when all of a sudden Jupiter's eyes began to open. "It's time" said Jupiter in a barely audible whisper "Serena" she said a touch stronger. Jupiter grasped the arm rest of her throne and tried to stand up, she was stiff and felt the last stirrings of sleep give way to the realm of waking. She looked around at the other guardians as they still lay slumbering on their thrones she tried to walk falling forward "How long was I out" she asked no one in particular, she sat there on her knees and wondering when she heard the faint sounds of someone walking.
The Catacombs…
Sera walked through the maze holding up the torch when suddenly she found a door at the end of a long hallway. "This must be it" she told herself, she took one step forward when she heard a voice behind her "You found it!" it was Luna followed closely by Artemis. "I don't know it's just a door I don't know where it leads" said Sera
"Well let's hope that this door leads us to the temple" said Artemis
"What about you two? didn't you find anything?" asked Sera
"We searched for hours and nothing we went through passage after passage and found exits that lead to different parts of the city…"
"But none that led to the Guardian temple" finished Artemis
"We thought that you might have better luck, so we doubled back" said Luna
"But how did you find me in this maze?"
"Pure dumb luck" answered Artemis and walked on forward "So shall we see where this leads us"
"You first" said Luna
"Ok"
"Artemis be careful" said Luna
"Always" Sera held up the torch above her head to give them more light Artemis walked forward towards the door "Looks like it is locked" he said to the others.
"So now what?" asked Sera
"Leave it to me" said voice from behind them, Sera turned around and saw a tall armored figure carrying a staff walking towards them. "How?" asked Sera "I thought you were under the sleeping spell"
Pluto answered "I am"
"Then how can you be here?" asked Sera again
"She is Omnipresent" answered Luna "Not even the spell can fully contain her"
"Can you open the door?" asked Artemis
"Of course," she said holding up her staff. She tapped the ground three times and the sound of the door unlocking came to their ears "Hurry, I can't keep it open for long" Pluto told them as the door opened. Luna, Artemis and Sera walked through when they heard the sound of the door closing behind them.
"Great another corridor" said Sera
"Come one lets push on" said Luna
Another two hours of walking down the corridor and Artemis suddenly broke out in a run. "Artemis?" said Luna with a quizzical look on her face. "I know where we are" shouted Artemis from a distance, "Come on Sera we need to catch up" and they both broke out at a run after Artemis twenty minutes later all three were standing in front of a solid stone wall. "We're at a dead end" said Sera
"Not exactly" said Luna smiling
"Press the stone on your right" Artemis instructed Sera. She did as she was told and pressed a large stone along the right wall. Suddenly the stone wall in front of them opened up into a large marble hallway. "Where are we?" asked Sera
"This hallway leads to the throne room from there they'll be another secret passage that will lead us to the guardian temple" said Luna "How did you know Artemis?"
"Remember all those times the princess would disappear on us when she was little"
"Yes?"
"Well let's just say that one time I discreetly followed her and found where she would disappear too"
"Why didn't you ever tell me"
"To let the princess, have her fun Luna"
"Hmmph"
"Come on the throne room is this way"
All three took a right turn towards the throne room when Luna came to sudden halt. "What is it" whispered Artemis.
"Sandmen" replied Luna taking a few steps back"
"What do we do now?" asked Sera when all of a sudden, the sandmen swept out of the room.
"Well that's convenient" said Artemis
"We have to move quickly, come on" all three ran across the throne room "There" said Luna climbing the dais and gestured to a lantern. "Pull on that to open the door" she told Sera. She pulled on the lantern and the door opened immediately after and all three stepped through. "Now what?" asked Sera
"Follow us" said Luna and Artemis together.
Lunarian Temple…
Jupiter stood on unsteady feet and walked towards the door she opened it a crack and saw that no one was there. She decided to throw caution to the wind and stepped out into the empty hallway looking around and listening for any sounds. She made her way through the temple and found herself in front of a portrait of the first guardians of the moon. She stared at the eyes of her predecessors wondering and then collapsed on the floor once more. She leaned against the wall for support she stayed there for a few minutes trying to regain her strength.
"Oh, what happened?" she asked herself she made her way to the window and saw the courtyard full of sandmen "What is going on?" she asked herself once again "My head hurts?" she made her way back into the war room and saw her fellow guardian's still lying-in repose.
"General! General!" she called out as she made her way in front of General Uranus.
"Come one wake up" she shook Uranus' sleeping form but nothing happened.
"Nothing" she said making her way to another guardian and trying again.
All the guardians remained deep in slumber and Jupiter didn't know what to do next "Last thing I remember was fighting in the training courtyard and then everything went blank" She slumped against the nearest wall and placed her head on her knees.
Palace tunnels…
"Come on now times wasting" said Luna as they descended the tunnels and into the catacombs
"Where are we?" asked Sera
"Lunarian catacombs, these tunnels should lead us straight into the temple undetected" they walked for a few minutes when they came to another impasse.
"Now what?" asked Sera
"Let's go," said Luna
All three went their separate ways. Luna was the first to find a dead end about 300 yards from the tunnel entrance "Better see if Artemis has fared better" she told herself and doubled back only to find Artemis coming down her hallway "Did you find anything" she asked him Artemis looked her straight in the eye and shook his head "No, my tunnel lead to the middle of the rose garden"
"Then Sera must have found the entrance to the temple"
"Or she could have run into more tunnels as she searched, these catacombs aren't exactly meant to be safe passage"
"Now who is pessimistic"
Artemis just smiled at her jest "Come on you old fool, let's go get our kingdom back"
30 minutes later…
"This tunnel only serves to lead to more tunnels I'll never find the way to the temple" Sera said to herself
"I can show you the way" said a voice down the darkened corridor
"Who's there?"
"Follow me" said the voice and suddenly there was a bright light in the middle of the hallway leading her down one of the tunnels. Another fifteen minutes later and the bright light disappeared into thin air and Sera found herself standing in front of a stone wall. "Hello" sera called out for the voice, but nothing came back. Frustrated she leaned against the wall on her right when suddenly it gave way and she fell on her back on cold stone marble flooring. Sera looked up as the wall slid back into place and she smiled "I'm made it" she laughed out loud unawares she had an audience.
Jupiter heard the sound of a voice coming from the hallway. She was in no shape to engage in combat at the moment so she did the only thing she could think of, she hid behind the flowing curtain and laughed at herself for her cowardice suddenly the rooms doors opened just a crack, Jupiter saw an unfamiliar dark head peek inside and gasp. Sera stepped into the room and noticed the one guardian she came to save was the one guardian that was missing from her seat "Oh no!" she gasped and looked around the room "Where is she?" she asked no one when suddenly a figure leaped out from behind the curtain and tackled her to the floor.
It was decided for her, she was not the type to run and hide if a full-on frontal confrontation couldn't be done then a sneak attack was in order so while this dark stranger had her back turned Jupiter struck. She ran out from behind the curtain and tackled her opponent to the ground and was just about to strike with her metallic claws when she heard the stranger call out her name not her title but her name.
"Lita! Wait" called out Sera
"Who are you? How do you know that name?"
"My name is Sera; I am from the dragon clan like you"
Jupiter didn't let up and still had her claws poised and ready to strike "What happened here?" asked Jupiter.
"Please I can explain just don't hurt me"
"Why should I trust you?"
"I can't give you a reason to trust me, but I came here with a warning"
"Oh yeah and what is that"
"Can we please stand and talk like civilized people"
At that Jupiter relented but didn't back down, she slowly slid off Sera and stood placing her hands at her sides and taking a couple of steps back. "Do you know what happened here, what happened to my friends?" Sera shook her head in the affirmative and began her story "Lunaris was attacked by a woman known as Queen Beryl…" but Jupiter interrupted "I already know all that, where is her majesty and the princess?"
"The princess is missing, and the queen is dead"
"Dead? How?"
"I don't know, but she is gone, and you've been asleep for the better part of a year, I came here to tell you that there is a woman named Alia and she is after you"
"Me? Why me?"
"Jealousy, she's always been jealous of you and…"
"What is it?"
"Alia murdered your grandfather, the great dragon"
"What?" Jupiter said in shock
"I am so sorry; I should have stopped her"
"So, you just stood there and let her murder my only family"
"There was nothing I could do"
"Sure, there was, you just choose not to do anything!" she screamed at her
"I'm here, now aren't I?"
Jupiter just stared at Sera for a long moment before she finally said "Where is she? Where is this Alia"
"On her way, I delayed her for bit but who knows for how long"
"Why are the sandmen here?"
"I don't know that either"
"Well what do you know?"
"I know that Alia is in league with someone called Metaria" and that struck a bell in her head.
"Metaria"
Sera just shook her head when suddenly they heard it again the sound of the stone wall sliding into place. "Who else is here?" Jupiter turned alarmed "Just me and the two felines Luna and Artemis, it must be them" Jupiter stuck her head out into the hallway and saw that it was indeed Luna and Artemis coming down the hall. "Luna, Artemis!" called out Jupiter the two felines looked on ahead and ran to the sound of Jupiter's voice "Jupiter" they both called out in elation suddenly there was overlapping chatter. "What happened here?" asked Jupiter "Oh Jupiter" said Luna with tears in her eyes.
"What do you remember of the night of the attack?"
"I remember fighting from the sky sending out bolts of lightning and then everything went blank."
"You were injured in the attack"
"Really, I remember Nephrite"
"He is gone" and that struck her in the heart like a cold stab of ice.
"The Queen?"
"Dead" said Artemis and Luna together
"Her bones still lay in the courtyard where she fell"
"How?"
"She used the silver crystal, to save the princess' life"
"Why are the others still asleep?"
"Prince Diamond"
"They have not woken yet?"
"No"
"So, what do we do now" asked Artemis
"Do we wait?" asked Sera
"No"
"What about Alia?"
"I'm not strong enough for a fight yet"
"Wait!" said Sera looking out the window "I think it might be too late for the that"
"What is it?" asked Luna
All four looked out the window and saw that something had the sandmen agitated. "It's Alia she is here" said Sera "I told you I'm in no condition to fight"
"Then I will" said Sera "It's the least I can do after everything"
"No wait" said Luna, but Sera was already running down the hall.
"Jupiter, we can't let her do this!"
"Goddess of the night please give us strength" Jupiter prayed.