CHAPTER 15
Mare Serenitatis was quite as usual. Her silence resembled the
cold loneliness in the Star Planet. But unlike the Star Planet, the
castle of the Moon Kingdom was still standing.
Cosmo Eos lagged behind as the others hurried forward. Their
eagerness amused her but her thoughts remain on the blue planet known
as Earth.
A shout from Tuxedo Mask alerted the others. The sword had been
found.
Cosmo Gaia glanced at her friend before turning back to the sword.
It was buried into the ground with only its hilt visible. Sailor Venus
gingerly caught hold of the sword hilt and pulled. It slid easily out
of the ground with a click. All present had a look of wonderment as
she brandished the silver sword over head, it's blade reflecting the
silvery light of the moon.
Then it crumbled to dust.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Adelaide!" hissed Mika. her friend gave a slight jerk before turning
to face her. They were walking home after their 'excursion'.
"Yes?"
"You knew about it didn't you?"
"About what?"
"The sword! Dammit, I saw the smirk on your face when Venus pulled
it out of the ground!"
"The sword was supposed to crumble. It was written in the texts,
you all were too excited to read further."
"You're a cruel person."
"And you only noticed it now? You're dumb." replied Adelaide
blandly.
"...Fine. I'm not going to lower my dignity quarreling with
you."
"Soooooo...glad to hear that. I take it you've noticed our shadows?"
"Yep, there's a dark alley a few steps away."
"Cosmo Fire!" The shadow gave a strangled squeal as it slowly
disintegrated into dust. Sailor Cosmo Gaia clapped her hand,
satisfied. At the other end, Sailor Cosmo Eos slowly electrocute a
suspended shadow.
"Don't you think that's a bit gross?" commented Como Gaia. Cosmo
Eos gave her a swift glance, the suspended shadow was beginning to
give off a burnt smell.
"I guess you're right. Dawn Vibration!" The shadow squealed as
it burst outwards. Sailor Cosmo Gaia made a face and turned away.
"Let's go home."
===============
"She is very stubborn." commented Persephone.
"A noble but bad trait." replied Hades.
A rumbled growl made the two shut their mouth. the Shadow King
was in a foul temper.
"Her choice has been made." muttered the Shadow King. "the time
draws near when I will be able to get out of this accursed place!"
Hades sneaked a glance at his fiancee. She bowed her head as usual
but now a triumphant smile graced the corners of her mouth. Hades'
heart sank. Not her too.
"Your Majesty is too wise. The silly sailors will be no match for
us. Now that their defences are down, we can launch real attacks on
them."
"No, Persephone. Lure them here, into the dark barren caverns of
the Vortex. They'll die snivelling in fear and despair. Ahhh...." The
Shadow King leaned forward, his red eyes glittering. "Once the Moon
Queen and the Earth King fall into our hands, my power would be absolute.
Nothing can stand in my way."
"Surely Your Majesty isn't serious. Their powers may not be within
our expectation."
"...Hahaha!" The shadow King's sudden laughter made Hades blanched.
"Fool! Did you think I am that stupid?! They will be no match for us
here! My Queen and I will be here personally to greet them! Now leave
me!"
Both Hades and Persephone bowed, slowly retreating until the two
oak doors slammed shut.
"You made a fool of yourself, dearest." said Persehone in a silky
tone.
"It isn't wise. Can't you see? Bringing the senshis here would be
pure folly!"
"Whatever. Oh!"
"What?"
"Who is our Queen?" Hades suddenly stopped and gave her a surprised
look.
"Why do you ask?"
"After the war, we were banished here and fell into a deep sleep.
Until our Shadow King broke the spell of slumber. Eversince then, we
have only seen the King but then he keeps on talking about his Queen.
Where is she?"
"Rumor has it that she was killed in the battle of the Vortex. Now
she has return."
"i don't under-"
"Hush! Time will reveal the truth. Patience is the answer to all
questions."
Persephone gave him another puzzled frown. Then someone called her
name. She swiftly gave Hades a light kiss before flitting to another
corridor.
"Please, don't let them come here." Hades whispered to the dark walls.
"Beware beautiful one. I would not like to see your body dead and lifeless."
=====================
Setsuna was practically furious. This was getting worse day by day.
Hardly a day goes by without them getting attack by a shadow! Worse,
the Inner Senshis were wallowing in a pool of despair.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Michiru asked, eyeing a pacing
Setsuna warily. Even Haruka pretended to be busy reading a newspaper,
trying to ignore the tense atmosphere.
That blew it. "Coffee! COFFEE! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT?!
WE JUST HAD A BATTLE AND ALL YOU CAN THINK OFF IS COFFEE! MAKOTO IS
INJURED AND ALL YOU CAN THINK OF IS COFFEE! USAGI IS A WALKING ZOMBIE
AND ALL YOU CAN-"
"Ok, Ok! I get your meaning." replied Michiru hastily. Haruka made
a funny snorting sound that suspiciously sounded like a chuckle.
"I'm sick of those shadows!" Setsuna dumped herself onto a large
sofa. "Who are our enemies?! What do they want?!"
"Maybe they're trying to wear us out?" suggested Haruka, deftly
flipping the newspaper over.
"If so, then they're succeeding." said Michiru grimly. "Adelaide
and Mika are playing nursemaid to both Usagi and Mamoru, while we are
getting rid of faceless shadows, EVERY DAY! Enough to make anyone
bonkers."
"Bonkers? Where did you learn that word?" chuckled Haruka before
realizing her mistake.
The three of them suddenly became quiet. For a moment, there seemed
to be a sound of a child laughing. Hotaru, their daughter....
"We should check on Usagi and Mamoru." spoke Setsuna quietly. The
loss of Hotaru was something they never discussed. "maybe Artemis and
Luna have some developments."
But worse was to happen. Twenty minutes later, they were staring
in disbelief at the burned out building before them. Ignorant of the
din around them, Haruka frantically searched for someone, anyone.
"Here!" Mika's voice carried over the wind. The Outer senshis homed
in on her. She quickly pulled them to a more secluded area.
"What happened?!" demanded Michiru.
"We...I made a mistake. Both I and Adelaide took Usagi and Mamoru
out for a walk in the park. Minako and the cats were left here to take
care of Makoto. Fortunately, she escaped with Luna's help."
"She?"
"Minako." Mika shuddered, the sight of melted flesh was still in
her mind. "We return here only to find that several shadows were here,
attacking the people. Or specifically, searching for us. Sailor Jupiter
and Sailor Venus were trying to hold them off. We joined them and killed
as many as we could, but their numbers kept on increasing." She stopped.
"What happened then? What about Makoto and the others? Answer Me!"
Haruka practically shooked Mika by the shoulders.
"Come with me. Adela..no...Minako wil tell you the rest." (
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