ACT 11
Minako pondered the list of multiple options on the glossy page of the course handbook. She rubbed her eyes, sat back and sighed, sipping her coffee. She stared once again at the mind-bending publication with annoyance; it seemed almost to be poking fun at her indecision.
Oh, which of these should I choose? They’re all excellent -- and that’s the problem. She thought, shaking her head. Minako then remembered Miranda had recently decided she wanted to pursue a singing career, and decided she would be a good person to have on side in a mini-crisis like this.
She dialed Rei’s number, and Miranda answered. “Hello,” she said, almost musically.
Minako smiled to herself before speaking, “Miranda, you’re just the person I need to talk to. I desperately need to pick your brains about something. Can you come over?”
“Sure thing,” Miranda agreed, a cheerful lilt in her voice. “I’ll see you in about five to ten minutes.”
“Thanks so much, I’ll see you soon.” She hung up, feeling a sense of relief wash over her and sighed. She stood up and stretched her arms over her head, and then set to making the place a little more respectable, if she could.
Artemis was with Luna, but that was no surprise. The white cat had taken to spending more time with his family since Diana’s arrival. Minako found it an amusing sight to see her cat -- usually the most carefree of individuals -- take his new responsibilities seriously. In many ways, Artemis reminded her of Usagi and her daughters, and she smiled fondly. According to Luna, Usagi had been a boy-crazy, whiny, klutzy ditz, with a huge appetite, who slept too much and read too many comics -- now mature and responsible.
Minako smiled to herself, thinking Usagi was likely to be with Mamoru, getting advice on her choice of career as a medical researcher. She couldn’t help giggling at the thought of Usagi and Mamoru, completing their task; the focus would quickly shift to the romantic.
~*~
Usagi sat at the kitchen table in Mamoru’s apartment, a slight frown on her face, working hard as she ploughed through the same handbook Minako had valiantly taken on. Mamoru was at work. His fiancée had chosen his apartment as the best place to get some peace and quiet. Artemis and Luna were with her, offering what advice they could.
Chibi-Usa was doodling in the lounge. Diana sitting on her head, the most comfortable position the kitten preferred, and her charge was giving half an ear to the conversation she was having with Pegasus.
“So, why do people study so much?” the little girl asked her friend. The pendant he’d given her at Christmas had come in very handy when the pink-haired princess wanted to ask something of Pegasus.
“They want to study for many reasons,” Pegasus replied, as Chibi-Usa’s eyes shone with curiosity, warming Pegasus’s heart. “The most desirable being the purpose of gaining knowledge and using that knowledge to make the world a better place; Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury are following this path, because they want to make sick people well, and they want the world to be free of illness that brings about many deaths. Sailor Moon has a friend overseas whose mother died from a bad disease they call cancer. She wants to become a researcher in the field of medicine, so she can find a cure. She wishes to see an end to the suffering this disease causes.”
Chibi-Usa was amazed. “I had no idea,” she said, in wonder, as she looked through the kitchen door at her mother.
“Your mother possesses a most caring nature. Both yourself, and Dark Moon possess this quality.”
Chibi-Usa beamed at the compliment. “Thank you, Pegasus that means a lot to me.”
“Words have a much greater power than you could ever imagine, little one. They can either wound us as with knives, or lift our spirits to heights only seen in dreams.”
“I am very careful about what I say,” she responded, an earnest expression on her young face. “I never say anything that could ever hurt anyone deliberately. But sometimes I am angry and I say things I don’t mean. I feel very bad afterwards, and I always apologize straight away.”
“That is a good habit to get into, for pride is the greatest destroyer of a friendship, no matter how close or deep. It is like a weed that chokes a beautiful rose, and unless it is taken out, the rose will die, little one… Chibi-Usa, I must impress upon you that things are becoming so much more dangerous. Our foes are growing ever more desperate in their search for me, and I am going to have to leave.”
“No,” Chibi-Usa said, clutching the pendant tightly in her hand. “You can’t leave me, Pegasus. I won’t let you.”
“You must let me go,” Pegasus implored, the tone of his voice urgent. “I will only place you in greater danger if I remain.”
“You promised me you’d always be there for me when I needed you,” Chibi-Usa said, her eyes full of tears, and her mental voice trembling with sobs. “I don’t care how great the danger is, I want you to stay with me,” she responded, and swallowed back a sob. “I need you, Pegasus. You’re a very special part of my life, and if you leave, you’ll take part of me with you, and it will feel like it has been torn away.”
“You could die because of me. I am the reason the Shadows are here, searching people’s dreams. They will do anything to find and capture me, and once they --” he choked off, unable to continue.
“I don’t care!” Chibi-Usa said, her mental voice distraught. “I don’t care what happens to me! I only want you to be with me until the end! Oh, Pegasus, you have to stay. You promised you would always be by my side, and you can’t break that promise… I won’t let you! Aishiteru, Pegasus. You’re my closest friend, and I can’t lose you.”
Pegasus was deeply moved. “I will stay,” he said, taking a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I could not bear the thought of abandoning you, when you are going to need me the most. I will not leave you to face your fate alone.”
Chibi-Usa smiled through her tears. “Thank you, Pegasus.”
~*~
“Thanks, Miranda,” Minako said, feeling both a sense of gratitude, relief and a lot lighter. Her course preference sheet was half done. “You’ve saved me from a major crisis.”
“Any time,” Miranda said, smiling at her blonde friend. “You remind me of Mom, you know. You’re both a pair of airheads when it comes to academic matters.”
“Hey!” Minako protested, laughing. Her large crystal-blue eyes, a shade lighter than Usagi’s, danced as she looked at her raven-haired friend. “I’ll have you know I’m not the airhead I once was.”
“No,” Miranda chuckled, shaking her head. “You’re an even bigger airhead now than you used to be.”
Minako reached for a t-towel on the back of the chair and swatted Miranda on the arm. “You’re going to find yourself wishing you hadn’t said that,” she threatened, laughing, and Miranda dodged, snatching up a t-towel of her own. Then an all out t-towel war ensued.
The doorbell interrupted their fun, and Minako answered it. A man with long blonde hair and dark eyes stood in the doorway, and bowed when he saw her. “I am looking for Tsukino Miranda,” he said, with flawless politeness. “Could you tell me where I might find her?”
Miranda entered the living room and her face froze when she saw the man looking back at her with dark empty eyes. “I knew you would come for me sooner or later,” she said, coldly, her tone warning Minako.
But the blonde stepped protectively in front of Usagi’s daughter. “Beat it,” she warned. “I don’t know what you want, but you leave her alone before I call the police.”
Unexpectedly, a spiral of darkness swirled around the figure in the hall, as Minako rushed back into the living room and reached for her communicator, “Guys! We need help…” she cried, and prepared to transform. But a sudden chill swept over her heart, bringing her rush of inner power to an abrupt halt. Like Ami, Makoto and Rei before her, she knew she would have to reach deep within herself to find the power she needed to defeat the Black Shadow.
Feet braced apart, Kenji stood before her, raising a black crystal staff into the air -- a cruel smirk on his face. “I think not,” he said, looking one to the other as he chanted an incantation.
Shockwaves washed over Minako and Miranda and they found themselves tumbling into an abyss of cold light, the only description Minako could think of as she unsuccessfully tried to keep hold of Miranda’s hand, as they plummeted into nothingness, the apartment gone.
~*~
Minako lay crumpled upon a hot dusty surface, winds howling all around. She could also hear the sound of footfalls not far away amongst the sparse underbrush to her left. She climbed to her feet and found herself surrounded by an alien landscape, an array of sheer cliffs of glistening obsidian hugging the horizon on all sides dwarfing the Grand Canyon or any other mighty trench on Earth. Its spiked ranks of towering jet resembled swarms of winged creatures preparing to swoop upon their prey. The dark spires of dark crystal were razor sharp and punctured the burgundy skies as flashes of bright-orange sheet lightning, cast gaudy shadowy silhouettes of color over the surreal valley, stretching hundreds of miles in all directions.
Minako caught movement upon a high ledge of red granite, upon a nearby rocky outcrop. To her surprise, hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were chipping away at the rock face, tossing chunks of ore into baskets that were carried by reptilian youma to processing stations further down the valley. At that moment, the valley floor shook violently beneath her feet. She looked up and gasped as a girl in tattered robes and raven-black hair tied in a long braid lost her footing on the narrow ledge as a massive chunk of Chameleon crystal -- as it was known in the Silver Millennium -- gave way. One of the Youmas was struck, its reptilian tail attempting to maintain its balance as it picked up the girl and threw her clear into a young European’s arms. The youma, who to Minako’s shock and wonder, had sacrificed itself to save a human.
This was indeed a strange place. She couldn’t help but wonder if the youma were enslaved, too. After all, they were the mindless servile creatures of Beryl, the Dark Moon Family and other emissaries of darkness, so perhaps there was more to be learned about this deadly, yet mysterious enemy they’d had come to regard as totally evil – perhaps all wasn’t as black and white as that, given what she had just witnessed.
Minako turned to her right, and an ancient step pyramid rose steadily towards the sky, flanked by a crop of foliage that appeared desperately to cling to its base as if seeking shelter from the harsh elements within this eerie canyon.
Standing atop the huge towers of honey colored rock, stood the Black Shadow, holding his staff, laughing. Minako ran to the foot of the huge structure and cautiously began to climb the thousands of ornate steps, as gale force winds blew like hot breath off the parched desert floor, sending her hair streaming across her eyes, forcing her to push it aside constantly as she crawled slowly upwards towards Miranda.
The pyramid looked quite old and well worn by the elements. Minako turned to look down some fifty feet from the base of the pyramid.
It actually rains in this place, Minako thought, staring at the empty riverbeds and baron streams below where the bones of dead fish, husks of shrubs, contorted limbs and roots of trees having surrendered to the oppressive conditions that wrought them to their fates adding to the landscape of devastation around her. It was a cruel landscape, and one fitting for the likes of their adversary.
He continued to laugh, as he held Miranda captive within the grasp of a long black whip. Its coils wrapped tightly around her chest and slim waist. The whip rived and quivered. Minako realized with shock and horror that this whip, was actually a serpent of some kind.
Tears spiked the corners of her eyes as her gaze drifted upward to where her friend stood, staring defiantly at her captor. Minako progressively moved towards the top of the pyramid, its decorative terraces covered in colorful pictograms -- these, standing in stark contrast to the hellish landscape all around.
She could see The Black Shadow now, his malevolent gaze, fixed upon Miranda. I must get to her before he does and he gains access to her dream mirror, she thought, lifting one foot after the other, knowing every second counted. But unfortunately, she was unable to prevent it.
”Hydra! I summon you, return!” The black Shadow shouted, and the serpentine youma withdrew, uncoiling itself from Miranda’s body.
She fell to her knees, hands clasping her head. Then she sank back on her heels, massaging her temples, hair hanging over her face, spilling over her knees as the slimy black horror crawled into the Black Shadow’s staff, and vanished.
Raising the crystal talisman, he pointed it at Miranda’s chest. When the beam struck her, a silvery light, flecked with translucent dark shards, formed a pulsing corona around Miranda.
Kenji frowned, scratched his chin, puzzled by this strange occurrence. Such was his desire to claim the mirror and see what it might hold. He didn’t realize his victim wasn’t human. The mirror of silvery-black withdrew from Miranda’s heart and hovered before her. The staff pulsed, and the mirror transformed into a stunning black-onyx arch, its elaborate motifs, shimmering with their own light. But these too, were overlooked.
The aura surrounding the arch pushed back the foreground as Kenji moved towards the stone gateway.
Minako demanded he stop. Miranda screamed in agony and fell to the ground, “Leave her alone you monster!”
Kenji laughed, as the gossamer vale between worlds was broken. He looked about, uncertain at what he saw. These were unlike any of the dreams he’d observed elsewhere. He began to suspect there was something special about this dusky young woman. And then he saw him, a large black silhouette, it was a Panther, but like none, he’d seen, at least not on Earth. Kenji smiled with satisfaction and licked his lips in triumph. Kantaro was too far away to harm him, so he bowed to the approaching cat. Kenji lifted his staff and vanished before Kantaro could find out what this intruder intended.
Kenji rematerialized before the stone gateway. He turned towards the collapsed figure of Miranda and addressed her. ”I have brought you and your foolish friend, what is her name…Minako, to my nightmare, a place I often wander. It is no dream -- of that I assure you. It is a world where magic and dreams become reality, and only I and my mistress control it,” he told the barely conscious figure, lying on the ground before him. He knew Minako was hiding behind a nearby pillar, some twenty feet away, waiting for a chance to attempt a rescue. ”You humans are so pathetic, you have no idea what or who you are dealing with. Well, I know this one is not human. Her dreams are alien, I don’t know where she is from , but she is of interest to me as she has a powerful being within her dreams, the half-brother to Pegasus! After disposing of you, I can trap Kantaro and use him against his brother.”
“No!” Minako cried, as he lifted a fist and drove it into the mirror, smashing it.
Miranda slumped forward, her face ashen, eyes blank. Her mirror lay in pieces on the stone concourse.
Then a deafening silence fell upon the valley. The wind had stopped, and what few birds sang in this desolate realm, ceased their singing. Then a roar, laden with pain and distress thundered off the valley walls and washed over the hostile terrain. The youma overseers and their prisoners, stopped their activity. All eyes it seemed, rested on the scene atop the temple pyramid.
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Kantaro leapt from a swirling cartwheel of golden light and rushed towards the Black Shadow.
Kenji effortlessly brushed him aside, and the great panther tumbled across the courtyard, immediately jumping to his feet. He stood protectively in front of Miranda, the great golden eyes filled with a pain greater than Minako had ever seen in the eyes of any animal, but he was far more than that. The Black Shadow laughed in the face of Kantaro’s anguish.
Minako, filled with such rage, it surged forth from the depths of her heart. She drew herself to her full height, eyes burning with a fire equaling Kantaro’s golden orbs.
The panther metamorph turned to face her. “I cannot reach her,” he said, his voice filled with such grief, she felt her own emotions threatening to surface. “I must work through you, to defeat this disgusting minion and bring the Princess back. Will you let me help you?”
”Yes, Kantaro,” Minako agreed.
Then a tide of great force coursed through her body. Its power so overwhelming, her knees very nearly gave way. Then she felt something soft and warm under her hands, and looked down to find Kantaro’s massive bulk beneath her. “Use me as an extension of your own power,” he instructed, she nodded and dug her fingers into his thick sable fur. He moved silently on huge paws to a strategic position where Minako slid off his back. She knelt before the golden-eyed feline metamorph and found herself sinking into his bright golden orbs. He provided the strength she needed, and when the power flowing through her began to subside, he spoke again, “Do not look away,” he commanded, and his gaze continued to bore into Minako’s ocean-blue eyes with a piercing intensity. She felt a throb of energy flow into the deepest recesses of her heart as a boundless well of golden light opened up before her. At its apex, she beheld a wreath of translucent leaves, shining with a golden fire. She moved a little closer, and it was then she noticed the sign of Venus pulsating like a lantern of brilliance against the dark. Without warning, it plunged into Minako’s heart, dissolving her defenses, leaving her exposed to its stellar fire.
A wave of pure heat assaulted her senses, but she was aware that Kantaro now stood beside her, lending her the extra strength she needed to face this vital test as they faced the enemy.
Minako took the laurel in her radiant hands, as a Katherine wheel of amber light spun before her, the symbol of Venus enclosed within, the luminescent leaves, as if clusters of stars, swirled away from the fiery wheel and flew towards the silhouette of a crystal wand that solidified in her hands.
Suddenly, another flash of brilliant light, and she found herself back in the flat, wand in hand.
The Senshi had arrived, and were staring in shock and grief at Miranda. Tears were pouring down Moon’s cheeks, and Chibi-Moon wept in her mother’s arms.
The Black Shadow was angry and confused. ”What the hell did you do to pull us out of my realm? You have no power over that place!” he screamed, waving his staff at Minako and Kantaro. They ignored him for the moment, the Senshi ministering to Miranda.
Jupiter kept an eye on the Black Shadow as he cussed and waved his staff about, like a crazed samurai. ”What magic is this? You shall pay for your actions! The Dark Mistress is going to see you do.”
”Shut up!” Jupiter launched a combined attack with Mars at Kenji, but he put up an impenetrable shield. He stepped back, laughing hysterically at what he thought their pitiful display of pointless concern for the dying girl, and once again gathered his dark power. Jupiter threw a burst of lightning attacks at the Black Shadow without effect.
Raising his staff once again, he stepped towards Kantaro -- collar and lead of obsidian light in hand. “Now, at long last, I have the means of capturing Pegasus,” he said, coldly and continued his advance towards Kantaro. “You shall provide the perfect bate to capture your half-brother.”
Minako stepped in front of Kantaro. “You’re going to have to go through me to get to him,” she challenged, in a low, deadly tone and raised the wand. “Venus Crystal Power, Make-UP!” Super Sailor Venus confronted the Black Shadow, who looked visibly disconcerted. “I don’t think you have any love in your heart,” she said, accusingly. Kantaro punctuated her words with a soft growl. “I’m going to have to give you a dose of love like you’ll never forget,” she continued. She blew a kiss, then a ring of hearts encircled her body, forming a blazing heart of tangerine light. “Venus Love and Beauty Shock!” she cried, as she hurled the pulsing heart at the Black Shadow, striking him in the chest.
He gave an excruciating shout of pain, but managed to open a gateway into subspace and fell into it. “You haven’t seen the last of me!” he cried, as the portal closed behind him.
At that moment, Miranda’s shattered mirror reconstituted itself and reentered her body. She slid to the floor with a sigh. Moon ran to her side, knelt upon the floor and lifted Miranda into her lap, cradling her protectively. “Miranda, my darling daughter,” she cried, as crystal-blue tears fell upon the young woman’s closed eyelids. “Please wake up.”
Miranda’s eyes fluttered open, and she gave her mother a weak smile. “I’m okay,” she whispered.
Kantaro came swiftly to her side. He nuzzled her face, purring all the while, “I was afraid for you,” he said, and Miranda smiled as she slipped her arms around the panther’s neck and hugged him, tears sliding from beneath her closed lids. Moon rocked her daughter gently. Chibi-Moon wiped her tears away as she held tightly to Jupiter’s hand, looking at the tender scene unfolding before them.
Suddenly, there was a brilliant blaze of golden light, and Pegasus appeared. “Protectors of the White Moon,” he said, including them all in his mental range. “Our enemies grow more desperate with each day. They are now attempting to give their mistress access to this world to make it far easier to find me. You must guard Sailor Chibi-Moon, for she will be targeted when the Dark One is freed from her prison.”
Moon’s face turned ashen as she looked at her younger daughter, pale, but composed as she reached out and gently caressed Pegasus. “A time of darkness is fast approaching, for the Dark One is gaining in strength. Once she is strong enough, she will break into this world and cover it in her darkness. You must be united and stand as one against her. You cannot let her overcome you, lest this world falls into perpetual night.”
“We’ll be ready,” Jupiter said, trying to sound as calm as she could, but her heart was hammering rhythmically against her ribcage. “We’re gonna have to be.”
“You will be,” Pegasus told them. “And now I must go. Protect Sailor Chibi-Moon.” Then he was gone. Kantaro nuzzled Miranda a final time, and then he too was gone.
“She’s wiped out,” Mars said, bending over her anxiously. “We’d better get her back to the temple and get something hot into her.”
“You can leave that to me,” Jupiter offered, stepping towards Miranda. “I’ll carry her.”
She lifted Miranda easily, and Mercury pulled Moon to her feet.
“I’ll be fine,” the blonde Senshi said with a weak smile. “I just need some sleep.”
“I’ll go with Rei-chan and Mako-chan,” the pint-sized Senshi said. “Miranda’s going to need me.”
“Okay,” Moon said, smiling at her younger daughter. “You’ll be safe with them. I’m for bed. I’ll see you guys later.” She left the flat with a wave, detransforming on her way to the lift. The other Senshi followed her example, and then took their leave of Minako.
“Stay in touch,” Ami urged them, and they nodded. “We will,” Makoto promised.
