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**A Soul Reclaimed**
By Brickgirl
Brickgirl@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/palace/7112
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and friends do not belong to me.
Adonis, Thalia, and this story do.
**Part 10: Shades Of Truth**
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Makoto picked her way carefully through the hall, stepping around
debris that had yet to be cleaned up. It hurt to walk, and the sling
that held up her left arm was seriously irking her, but she knew that
with her powers, she would be fine in a few days. Minako and the King
were another story. Minako had been struck down attempting to defend
the King as he fought for the Queen . . . both were left seriously
injured. Luckily, Ami was the best doctor in Crystal Tokyo, and
currently devoting all of her time to the two. Makoto clenched her fist
angrily. She had taken the brunt of the initial attack, and had been
unconscious for the ensuing battle. If only she had been able to help
them, perhaps they would be all right now . . . she shook her head.
Their was no point now in dwelling on that which could not be helped
now. Their main concern was in finding out where the Queen and Luna
were being held.
Makoto tapped on the door of Ami’s lab. Hearing no answer, she
stepped in. Ami sat slumped asleep on her desk. She jerked awake at
the sound of Makoto’s footsteps.
"Oh, hi Mako," she said, her voice heavy with exhaustion. She
rubbed her eyes tiredly. She looked at if she hadn’t slept in a week.
"Just wondered if you wanted a midnight snack. I was hungry, and
thought you might be too, seeing that you missed dinner."
"You had dinner already? I haven’t even eaten lunch yet. I’m
trying to adjust this program to trace the vector and power of the
residual energy from the portal, and . . ."
"You haven’t eaten all day?"
Ami paused to think. "I had breakfast . . . no, wait, I had to
reset Minako’s stitches, they opened up overnight . . ." She wavered
slightly, steadying herself on the edge of her desk. Makoto took one
look at her friend’s condition and grabbed her arm, pushing her out of
the lab.
"Wait, what are you doing? The program . . ." Ami protested, too
weak to free herself from the larger girl.
"I am cooking you some dinner, and then you are going to bed. You
can finish it in the morning."
"But Serenity . . ."
"You aren’t fit to do anything in this condition. Look at you,
you’re ready to collapse!"
A tear ran down Ami’s cheek. She was too tired to wipe it away.
"We have to find her."
Makoto bit her lip to keep her own tears from welling up. "We
will, trust me. But you can’t wear yourself out like this. It’s going
to come down to a fight, and we need you. If you keep up this pace, you
wouldn’t be able to stand up to a mouse."
Ami managed to smile at that. "I like mice," she murmured.
"I know," Makoto replied, propelling her sleepy friend towards the
kitchen. "Now let’s eat. I think there’s still some leftovers from
dinner."
__________
"Interesting new look, Adonis," Luna smirked to the crystal
creature that stood before them. "Makeover gone wrong?"
Serenity cringed, expecting Adonis to attack Luna, but he simply
laughed. The laughter chilled her to the bone. There was nothing
remotely human in it.
"Your one to talk, feline. Look at you, trapped in that pathetic
form. You were once a warrior, now, you’re nothing! I have gained
power beyond your mortal imagination. He clenched a crystal fist, his
eyes burning. "The kind of power that only a true Lunarian is meant to
hold."
"You look like a hunk of crystal to me. Messing with magic you
couldn’t control? Ceruleacite is very dangerous, though you appear to
have learned that the hard way, hmm?" Serenity frantically signaled for
Luna to stop, but the cat plunged on, heedless. "Let me guess.
preservation spell gone wrong?" His eyes narrowed, and Serenity knew
Luna had hit a nerve.
"The spells were perfectly placed! After Serenity banished me, I
gathered the members of the Cult of Apollo. We traveled to the deepest
caverns of the Moon, to suspend ourselves in sleep until we could bring
the Moon to its height of power. We linked the spells to the core to
sustain our life force. But something must have gone wrong." His voice
softened, and Serenity could suddenly see the man who had been her
mother’s advisor and friend, a tall, proud warrior. The thing before
her was only a pale, smudged shadow of that man. "A massive burst of
energy disrupted the entire moon itself. It corrupted the core and
shattered the protective wards on the spell. We were too far under to
stop it from happening. The last thing I remembered was the crystal
surrounding us."
"It turned on you, for your life energy. Beryl’s attack caused
it." Luna looked at him with wide eyes.
The large head hung low. He swallowed, then continued, his voice
softer still, human. "When Serenity unleashed the power of the
Ginzuishou, as I assume she did, it must have stopped the crystal from
killing us outright. It bonded with our bodies somehow, instead.
Turning us into these . . . these things." His voice broke, his
clenched hands shook. "We woke up as monsters."
"I . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t realize . . ." Serenity stepped
toward him, raising a hand. She paused when he abruptly looked to the
ceiling.
"But then . . . then we discovered the power these forms
possessed." He suddenly turned towards her, his eyes glowing with
unbridled joy, and something else.
Madness. With a start, Serenity realized that he was completely
insane.
"The power, a gift from the God Apollo himself, to use to bring
the moon to his former glory!" He laughed, looking down at Luna. "You
should have killed me when you had the chance, cat. You are as weakened
by your pathetic morals as your Queen was. Now she’s dust and you have
been stripped of your power. You are a pathetic failure, but one would
expect that from your kind."
Luna stepped forward, as if to challenge him. Serenity quickly
scooped up the small cat in her arms. She could feel Luna trembling
with fury. Pushing back the own anger that was welling within her, she
spoke calmly. "You were once my mother’s most trusted advisor, if
memory serves me right. How could you betray the line of Serenity like
this?" She stood, looking the huge creature straight in the eye. "You
commit a great crime against the people you so proudly claim to be part
of."
Adonis stepped forward. "It is you who have betrayed your people,
daughter of Serenity. Just like your mother."
Serenity frowned. "What are you talking about? My mother died to
save her people, which is more then can be said about you."
"Your mother was the cause of the war in the first place! Her
lack of duty to her people destroyed them. She placed the importance of
a corrupt Terren girl over all else."
"Thalia? What does she have to do to do with the destruction of
the Moon Kingdom? She was gone long before . . ."
"Yes, I tried to have her eliminated before she became a danger,
but my men failed."
Serenity sucked in a breath. "You were behind that attack, on
Earth? On my sister" Her voice hardened. "How dare you . . ."
"The demon had to be stopped!" Adonis screamed, shocking the young
Queen into silence. "She was the spawn of evil, destined to destroy all
in her path! It was in the prophesy!" His voice rose to a fevered
pitch. "Even that fool Pluto knew what was coming! She warned
Serenity, but she still allowed the evil to grow and consume her
kingdom!"
"What are you talking about?"
Adonis jerked in surprise. "What do you . . . you don’t know?"
He looked in astonishment, then broke into laughter. "You really don’t
know?"
"Know what?"
"Your precious ‘sister’ destroyed the Kingdom of the Moon. Beryl
was Thalia!"
Luna shuddered in Serenity’s arms, expecting an outburst of some
sort, but the Queen merely smiled.
"That may be so, but Thalia has returned and reclaimed her title
as Senshi of Earth. It seems that you have a more powerful enemy then
you expected."
Adonis’ face shifted into something resembling fear. "The Cursed
One has returned?" He placed a fist in a palm, thinking. "If she . . .
no. The plan shall proceed as planned. She will be the Senshi of a
dead planet."
A chill shot through Serenity. "What are you going to do?"
"Earth has obviously corrupted you, daughter of Serenity. You
have forgotten you true duty as Queen of the Moon."
"The Moon is dead."
"Don’t say that! Don’t ever say that!" Adonis roared, raising his
hand as if to strike her. She backed up, frightened. He froze when he
saw the terror in her eyes. His arm lowered, and his face returned to
its previous calm insanity.
"The Moon Kingdom may have had certain . . . setbacks, true. But
with our rightful Queen, we can once again grow strong, return to our
former glory. You belong to the Moon, Serenity, not to Earth. Your
Senshi and that Terren Endymion have obviously been a bad influence on
you, leading you astray. But once they and that pathetic planet have
been destroyed, you will see that you truly belong here on the Moon,
with us."
__________
"Aaauuhhh!!" A scream of rage ripped from Thalia’s throat as she
pummeled the wooden practice dummy. In her normal form, she did not
have near the strength as she did as a Senshi, but her anger helped make
up some of the difference. She whirled in a furious roundhouse kick
that sent the dummy’s head flying across the room.
"Feeling any better?"
Thalia spin, panting. Rei stood in the doorway with the tiny
infant Small Lady in her arms, feeding her a bottle. "I mean, did
destroying our last eight practice dummies help you feel any better."
"No." She smashed her fist into the dummy’s torso, ignoring the
pain that exploded in her hand. "We failed her, Rei. We couldn’t even
protect the Queen from a bunch of crystal freaks. We don’t deserve to
feel better!"
"We’ll find her."
"How, Rei? We have no idea where they took her. Or if she’s even
still . . ." Her voice broke.
"Ami is working on tracing the portal that brought those creatures
here. We will find them."
"And how long will that take?"
"She isn’t sure. No more then a few days."
"That’s too long!"
"It’s the best we can do. With Serenity not currently in
possession of the Ginzuishou, we cannot trace her herself."
Thalia frowned. "They certainly picked a perfect time to attack.
I wonder how they knew."
Rei shook her head. "I don’t know. I need to go check on Minako
and Endymion, while Ami is sleeping. Can you finish feeding Small Lady
for me?"
Thalia took the small bundle from Rei, holding her awkwardly until
Rei adjusted her arms to the proper position. She looked at the tiny,
innocent face, ringed with pink curls. The baby crumpled her face and
sneezed. Thalia smiled in spit of herself.
"Sure, go ahead." Thalia went over and sat on a small chair,
watching the infant gulp her bottle. "Poor little thing. Don’t worry.
We’ll find your mother." Her voice caught in her throat, and she
blinked away tears. "No one should have to grow up without a mother."
She rocked back and forth, cooing softly to the child.
"How did they know that Serenity would be separated from the
Ginzuishou? She’s helpless without it. It doesn’t make sense." The
baby squirmed, and she absently brought her crystal forth, transforming
it into a small rattle which she gave to the infant. Lost in thought,
she didn’t notice the small glowing light that formed around the child
until it enveloped her, growing to encompass half of the room.
"What the--" She tried to stand, but something held her in the
chair.
<> a soft, musical voice whispered. Thalia
jerked her head around.
"Whose there?"
<>
"What?"
<> The light began to
fade.
"Wait! Who are you?"
The voice floated back to her, soft as a breeze. <>
The voice and the light faded altogether.
Thalia sat frozen in the chair. She looked at the baby in her
arms. She had fallen asleep, the crystal rattle lying on the floor.
Thalia picked it up, studying it. Her hand trembled, and she stood,
heading towards the nursery.
__________
Luna paced nervously near the cot where Serenity slept. The queen
had been in shock at Adonis’ announcement, but as soon as the monster
had left, she had let her terror and exhaustion overtake her, softly
crying herself to sleep. Luna had not wished so much for her human form
in ages. She hated feeling this helpless.
"Is it true, Luna?" The sleeping voice froze her in her tracks.
"About Thalia. Was she really Beryl?"
Luna nodded. "Your mother learned of this, but thought it best
not to tell you or the other girls. After the attack, and Thalia was
washed away in the river, Metallia somehow found her and twisted her
will and power to serve her, much as Beryl herself did the same to
Endymion’s general’s, and Endymion himself. She had no choice in the
matter."
"I know. No wonder she has kept to herself so much since she came
here. To be trapped with the guilt of knowing you had done so much evil
. . . oh, Luna, why didn’t she tell me?"
"She was afraid you wouldn’t understand. She couldn’t bring
herself to, especially knowing how she had tried to tear Endymion from
you."
Serenity sat up, hugging her knees much as she had done as a
child. "Setsuna’s warning . . . it all makes sense now. She said that
Thalia needed my support, my faith in her, but I never understood what
she meant." She stood. "We have to find a way out of here. The Senshi
must be warned of Adonis’ plans."
"It’s no use Serenity. Without the Ginzuishou, you don’t have the
power to teleport back to Earth, especially not from the Moon. We have
to hope that the Senshi can find us somehow."
Serenity sighed and sat back down. "I just hope they can get here
before it’s too late."
__________
Thalia, as Sailor Earth, crept around the darkened nursery. She
held a carrier in one hand, and a blanket in the other. Strapping the
carrier to her chest, she lined it with the blanket to pad it against
her breastplate. Making sure it was tight and secure, she gently placed
the tiny princess inside, tightening the clasps so she wouldn’t fall
out. Cradling the bundle, she stepped out of the nursery, silently
closed the door, then turned, bumping right into Rei. The other girl
muttered and rubbed her bruised shoulder, then froze when she saw Thalia
in Senshi form.
"What are you doing? Where are you taking Small Lady?"
"I don’t have time to explain. I have to go." She stepped past
Rei, but he other girl grabbed her arm, quickly stepping in front of
her.
"Oh no you don’t! You’re going to have to go through me first."
She drew out her henshin stick, but Thalia knocked it out of her hand.
"Sorry Rei, don’t take this the wrong way." She brought her
crystal gauntlet down hard on the girl’s head. With a soft cry, Rei
fell unconscious in Thalia’s arms.
"Seriously, Rei, how many times are you going to fall for that?"
Thalia gently lay her on the floor. "You’ll understand. The Queen
comes first." She brought her crystal forth, and held it in front of
the infant. The baby’s eye’s widened, and she reached for it. "I hope
this works, or Rei is going to wake up with a huge headache for
nothing." Thalia muttered.
The baby’s fingers brushed the crystal. The hallway exploded with
light.
"Take us to the Queen Serenity!" Thalia shouted. The light
swirled around her furiously, and with a flash, she was gone.
__________
"She did WHAT?!" Artimis hissed. Once Rei had woken and found
Thalia gone, she had rushed to tell the others. They had gathered in
the room where Minako and Endymion were recovering. Both were awake,
and shocked by the news.
"I can’t believe that she would do something like this with bad
intentions," Makoto thought aloud. "Perhaps she found a way to find
the Queen."
"Perhaps she’s gone completely off her rocker," Rei retorted. She
rubbed her sore head.
Ami shock her head. "I don’t think so. I studied the residual
energy from the hall. Thalia teleported there directly, instead of
opening a portal. That kind of teleportation requires a massive amount
of energy, more then she has as Sailor Earth. Remember how hard it was
for us to directly teleport, even when we had Sailor Moon with us? She
must have had the aid of the Ginzuishou."
"That would explain why she had the Small Lady with her. Endymion
said, wincing at his cracked ribs. "Perhaps she can bring Usako back to
us."
"I can’t believe you are willing to trust her with the
Ginzuishou," Artimis muttered. "After all the trouble she caused for us
during the Moon Kingdom--" He cut himself off suddenly when he realized
he had five curious sets of eyes watching him. "With the, uh . . . I
mean, you know . . ." He trailed off.
"Why Artimis, what are you talking about?" Minako said in her
sweetest voice. Artimis gulped and tried to make himself vanish.
"Forget I ever said anything, okay?" He laughed nervously.
Minako raised her right arm, along with its heavy cast, and shook
it threateningly over the cat’s head. "Spill it."
Artimis swallowed, and hoped Luna wouldn’t kill him when she found
out.
__________
A bright light flared in the cell. Serenity shielded her eyes.
The light faded, and she was shocked to see Thalia appear, along with
her daughter. The Senshi fell to her knees, drained. Serenity ran
forward and caught her before she could fall.
"Thalia? How on Earth . . .?"
"The Ginzuishou told me how," she gasped. She unbuckled the
carrier and handed it to Serenity. "Brought you a present."
Serenity cradled her daughter, singing softly to her. Luna hopped
up to Thalia’s shoulder. "She knows about Beryl," the cat murmured.
Thalia’s face fell.
"My Queen." She bowed her head. "About Beryl, I can explain . .
."
"There’s no need to," Serenity said, interrupting her. "I know
it’s not your fault. It’s all in the past." She reached over and
hugged the surprised girl. "And call me Serenity," she whispered in her
ear.
The tears that Thalia had held back spilled out. She sobbed into
Serenity’s shoulder. Serenity hugged her tightly, then stood.
"Now let’s figure out how to get out of here, before they realize
that--"
The door burst open, and one of Adonis’ followers stepped in. His
eyes widened when he saw Thalia. "Well, well, a visitor. And a Senshi,
even. The Cult welcomes you!" He grinned and raised a huge crystal
claw. "Though I don’t think you’ll be here for long."
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Two more parts left! Probably won’t get Part 11 out next week, but
definitely the week after that. For all who care, my birthday is April
7. I will be 19. E-mail me and I will tell you where to send the
presents. ;-p
Next time: Thalia and Serenity try to escape the bowels of the Moon.
Will they arrive in time to warn the Senshi of Adonis’ attack?
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