CHAPTER 18
"...My dear Queen, are you sure you got the directions right?"
Sailor Cosmo Gaia turned to eye her liege. "Shouldn't the Vortex be
..um..damp and cold...it being the lair of all evils and all?"
"This is the Vortex." said Hades before sailor Cosmo Eos could
reply. He winced as sailor Uranus unceremoniously dumped him onto
the green grass. "Hey!!"
"Uranus, you should be a bit gentler, he DID bring us here."
admonished Cosmo Eos. Uranus only glared at her.
They were standing in a valley of lush greeness with dotting of
flowers and trees, adding a vibrant color to the monotous green. But
the senshis stared apon this scenery with mixed feelings.
"Do not be fooled. This is only the entrance to the Vortex. As a
creature of the shadows, I can easily enter the Vortex. But since you
are of the outside world, you must find your own way in."
"...Why are you helping us?" asked Eternal Moon.
"A..an old promise I once made...also because I want to stop the
Shadow King."
"Wha..? Now you've lost me...us." declared Sailor Venus flatly.
She hadn't really trusted Hades, eventhough he maybe hunk, she
thought inwardly.
"What reason do I have to live for? You've destroyed it." Hades
stared accusingly at Sailor Cosmo Eos. "I swore allegiange only to
make a happy future for both Persephone and me...now..it's all gone
..GONE!"
"Hey!" Sailor Cosmo Gaia moved protectively in front of Cosmo Eos,
her red eyes blazing angrily. "She had to protect herself. And what's
this about happiness. From what I've gathered, that king of yours is
just playing with your lives."
"Yeah! Your kind killed our daughter, and now you're blaming US?!
Who do you think you are!" yelled Sailor Uranus, adding into the
tense atmosphere.
"ENOUGH!!!" Sailor Cosmo Eos finally lost her patience. "This
childish charade will stop..NOW! You all had a choice whether to
trust Hades and follow me here. This is the battleground and I could
do with no more brawls!" Cosmo Eos turned her sharp gaze onto Hades,
her eyes softening slightly. "You may hate me but I am grateful for
your help, Hades."
Hades stared back and bowed his head, moved by her sincerity. The
other senshis were surprised and a bit sheepish after Sailor Cosmo Eos'
speech.
"...Since we've all decided to cooperate. I might as well tell you
all my story.." murmured Hades.
"Um..I thought we were here to fight a battle?"Cosmo Gaia glanced
longingly at the horizon.
"Earth Maiden, just shut up and listen." retorted Sailor Cosmo Eos,
ignoring the haughty look directed at her. " We have all the time in
the world, the Shadow King has enough patience."
"You sure seem to know alot about the Shadow King." noted Tuxedo Mask.
"I came from a faraway planet. I was one of the head generals of the
my King. One day, a new handmaiden was assigned to my Queen and appeared
frequently around the meeting room, carrying out orders from my Queen.
The handmaiden's name was Persephone. We got to know each other and became
lovers. At that time, the Royal Priestess of my planet, Sailor Timah, was
secretly in love with me. Of course, she grew jealous of my affections
for Persephone and tried to get rid of her. As the priestess, she foretold
that Persephone would bring a bright future as the next Queen. but since
the Queen was barren and bore no child, our King immediately divorced her
and wanted to marry Persephone."
"How could he have done THAT!" exclaimed Eternal Moon.
"Our Queen was a commoner, how could she have any say? Plus, Persephone
was of half nobility...So she came to me and begged me to help her. She
actually wanted me to kill Persephone but I refused her and she..hung
herself."
"WHAT!!" exclaimed the senshis in shock.
"Now, the king had an even better excuse to marry Persephone, since the
battle between the Vortex and the Moon Kingdom had reached our ears.
Persephone and I tried to elope but Sailor Timah captured us both. Persephone
was with child then. The king was furious and wanted to chop my head off
but Persephone begged on my behalf. She agrred to marry the King as long as
I was set free. Two days before the wedding, I tried to rescue Persephone.
Sailor Timah appeared again and dropped a bombshell. Persephone was actually
my half-sister! She was born out of wedlock after her mother had an apparent
fling with the Baron Roatsin, my father. Persephone...she was shocked and
distraughted her sense of morality was strong and she.. killed herself..
stabbing herself before my eyes. At the same moment, the battle warnings
rang, the shadows had appeared. Sailor Timah quickly went to face the enemy,
leaving me with Persephone in my arms." Hades cleared his throat, his eyes
cloudy with memory. "Somehow, I ended up walking amongst the dead in the
battle fields. I saw both my King and Sailor Timah vigourously fighting
the shadows. In a fit of anger, I drew two daggers and stabbed them tru
the back. They both died..and my planet was destroyed."
"You..." Sailor Uranus stared at him in disbelief.
"All I had was blind anger. Then a dark shadow appeared before me, darker
then the blackest sky, and he made an offer. Serve him and Persephone would
live once again. I agreed to his offer and swore and both Perspehone and
my lives. Perspehone remained at my side, her former memoriesof being my
sister was blurred over. All she remember was that she had killed herself
because she was too distraught over her miscarriage. A subtle twist added
in by the Shadow King."
The senshis gaze in apprenhension at the..betrayer before them. To kill
their own liege was a sin, something a normal senshi would never think of
doing.
"I know you would find my actions repulsive, but love blinded my mind."
said Hades. He gaze at each senshis, finally resting his eyes on Sailor
Cosmo Eos. "Do you know why I helped you?"
Sailor Cosmo Eos only watch him solemnly and shook her head. She was
still preoccupied with the task that lay ahead.
"You reminded me of my former Queen. Beauty and grace were her best
attributes. After her death, Persephone found a letter addressed to me.
In it, my Queen said she had forgiven me but she could never live with
her shame. Sadly, I then made a promise to protect the next person who
resembles my Queen, you..Sailor Cosmo Eos." A look of surprise flitted
across the senshis' face. "Eventhough you may not be my real Queen, I
will fulfill my promise."
"...you.." for once, Sailor Cosmo Eos appeared at loss for words. But
she was interuppted by a maniacal laugh. Suddenly, a shadow shimmered
before them, moulding into a tall man.
His eyes were ruby red adn filled with evilness. The aura he exuded
caused the senshis to shudder involuntarily. Dark hair framed his
handsome face, nearly covering a faint scar on his left cheek.
"Hades..." he purred. "by swearing allegiance to another, did you
think I would let you go...FREE!!" The last word was let out as a roar
as Hades was picked up by an invisible hand.
"Hey, let him go! STARFLARE!" Sailor Cosmo Gaia let out a bolt of
fire towards the stranger. At the same moment, Sailor Cosmo Eos quickly
shove her friend aside. The ground detonated, spitting mud and grass.
Hades remained struggling above the ground, as the stranger haughtily
puffed out the fire.
"Honey Moon Theraphy Kiss! Venus Love and Beauty Shock! Death Scream!
World SHaking! Deep Submerge!"
Yet the attacks were of no avail. The senshis stared in horror as
all their attacks were suddenly deflected halfway and aimed towards
Hades. "NO!!!" Hades grunted as the energies lashed through his body
and tore it apart. A sharp crunching sound was heard and Hades landed
in a lifeless heap on the ground.
"You...you monster!" exclaimed Sailor Neptune. The man only laughed.
"You must be the Shadow King." said Sailor Cosmo Eos calmly. She got
up from the ground and quickly drew a long staff from the air. Her
stance was defiant...yet a thousand emotions flitted across her face.
the Shadow King gave a start as a faint memory tugged at his conciousness.
Then he banished it with a snarl. "Welcome Sailor Senshis to my Vortex.
You have succeded in destroying most of my generals, I must congratulate
you-"
"How dare you...I'll...we'll punish you in the name of the Moon."
shouted Eternal Moon.
"Yeah! I'll show you my true power as the Earth Maiden! TITAN!" Sailor
Cosmo Gaia yelled as a towering swordsman began to materialized.
"GAIA! HALT!" commanded Sailor Cosmo Eos in a new tone that brooked no
arguments. The swordsman vanished as Sailor Cosmo Gaia stared in shock at
her Queen. "You'll only tire yourself out." Cosmo Eos eyed the Shadow King.
"This is not our battle field and you know it...Zakros!"
The Shadow King narrowed his eyes and suddenly a ring of black fire
surrounded the senshis. He then gave an ugly laugh. "Very well...Queen
Adelaide...we will find out how well you can fight. let's play a game.
You all only have two hours to kill me before my Queen reawakens."
Sailor Cosmo Eos took a step backwards. "You...your Queen is long gone,
Shadow King."
"Ahhh...is she? I would thank you for bringing her here."
"What does he mean?" ask Tuxedo Mask when he saw a look of pure terror
appear on Cosmo Eos' face.
"Adelaide?" now even Cosmo Gaia was worried.
"You'd never thought I noticed, did you?" sneered the Shadow King "Race
against time, Sorceress Queen, and try to rescue your friend. Now! Let the
games BEGIN!"
The black fire expanded around them and exploded. Then there was only
darkness.....
=====================
"Drip...drip..."
Sailor Cosmo Gaia groggily got up. Where was she? She steadied her self
againts the cavern's wall and surveyed her surroundings. The faint phosphorence
of the plants growing in the dark lend some light to the eerie blackness.
She was standing at the entrnce of a large underground chamber.
"Now this is more like it." she murmured as she warily strode forward.
"Dank and wet and stuffy and--YIKES!" sailor Cosmo Gaia did a somersault,
nearly missing the sharp claws of her attacker.
"Sneaking up on some one isn't fair and...Good Grief, what in the world
are you?" Sailor Cosmo Gaia stared in dumbfound amazement at the creature
before her.
It was a tiger...but a strange one. For it had extra horns growing out
of it's head and a pair of leathery wings on it's back. Two sharp and long
incisors ran down the side of its mouth.
"Oh great...now I'm fighting beasts?!" complained Sailor Cosmo Gaia as
she edged backwards. The 'tiger' growled and padded forward, the bloodmlust
in its' eyes obvious. "nice kitty, go away, I don't like killing animals...
shoo!..go away....AIKS!! STARFLARE!!!" Sailor Cosmo Gaia backed against
a wall as she watch the burning beast in front of her. it's howls filled
the cavern with echoes and caused a shiver to run down Cosmo Gaia's back.
"...I..told you not to attack me..." The beast only choked in reply and
crumbled to the floor.
Cosmo Gaia gagged at the stench of burned flesh and leaned against the
wall. Suddely, the wall gave way and Sailor Cosmo Gaia screamed in surprise
as she fell into the darkness. Another shadow appeared and snickered at
the opened wall. it tugged at a hidden rope and the wall was shut once
again..............
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