*******************************************************
**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 12: The Angel Flies Again**
*******************************************************
“Get Endymion out of here!” Thalia screamed to the other Senshi,
her sword clenched tightly in her hands. Sailor Jupiter picked up the
fallen King and rushed back towards the castle. The other Senshi
scattered as energy bolts rained down from the sky. Thalia dove out of
the way, rolling back to her feet. She glared at the figure that
hovered above her in the sky, wrapped in tendrils of sparking power.
She could hear his maniacal laughter. She gritted her teeth. It seems
the odds had suddenly turned against them.
__________
Serenity sat singing softly to her daughter when Jupiter burst
into the room, Endymion in her arms. The sweat-soaked Senshi gently
placed him on the bed as Serenity hurried over to them. The Queen felt
a pang of fear as she looked at her love. His face was pale, and his
chest barely seemed to move.
“What happened?” Her voice shook slightly, but she managed to
keep it level.
“Thalia and Endymion managed to destroy Adonis’ army, but then
Adonis himself appeared without warning. The other Senshi are fighting
him, but . . .” She shrugged helplessly. “Without Endymion’s help, I
don’t know if this is a fight we can win.”
“We gain nothing if we do not fight.”
“I know, I’m not saying we should give up.” Jupiter suddenly
grinned recklessly. “How many times have we faced impossible odds
before?”
“I just wish that Sailor Moon could be fighting alongside you.”
Jupiter’s grin faded. “So do I. But you have a more important
job now. Speaking of which, I’d better get back out there. They are
going to need my help.”
Serenity nodded, her eyes on Endymion’s face. Jupiter left the
room quietly, leaving the Queen alone with her family.
Serenity took Endymion’s limp hand in her free one, Small Lady
cradled in her other arm. A gasp knotted her throat. She could feel
his life energy draining away. He was dying, and she had no way to help
him. Tears gathered in her eyes as she bent to kiss his hand. She
pressed it against her cheek, closed her eyes.
“Goddess help us,” she murmured, silent sobs shaking her body.
__________
Adonis smiled grimly as he watched the Senshi dodge the blasts of
energy towards them. He didn’t take his time trying to aim. It was
more fun to simply . . . play with them. They deserved to suffer, after
twisting Serenity’s mind, making her feel she needed to scrape and bow
to the lowly Terrens. His only regret was that he had killed the demon
Endymion so quickly, instead of savoring his pain. But there were still
so many more traitors to play with.
He hovered closer to the ground, magic sparking around his crystal
figure and madness spilling from his eyes. The last vestiges of
humanity that remained in the former royal advisor was pushed aside,
drowned by a dark, murderous rage.
Adonis barely noticed.
And if he had, he probably wouldn’t have cared.
__________
“SHINING AQUA ILLUSION!” The blast of water hurtled from Mercury
into the sky. The Senshi watched hopefully, but it dissipated in a
flash of energy within a yard of Adonis.
“It’s no use,” Mercury shouted, studying the data fed to her
through her visor. “He used his magic to create some kind of energy
field around him. The magic from our attacks can’t penetrate it.”
“Can anything physical get through?” Jupiter yelled back,
rejoining the battle.
“I’m not sure. I’m getting some odd readings from all the magic
in the area. . .”
Jupiter grabbed a fist-size that lay near her foot and hurled it
towards Adonis. Her aim was impeccable. The rock bounced harmlessly
off Adonis’ chest. “Apparently so, for all the good . . .” A blast of
energy nearby sent Jupiter flying into a tree at the edge of the woods.
Thalia rushed over to her. Jupiter stood slowly, dazed. “I’m . . . I’m
okay,” she gasped.
Adonis chuckled as he lowered himself to a few yards above the
Senshis’ heads. “Sticks and stones my dear? Do you really think you
can stop me with such pathetic efforts?”
Thalia stood, her eyes sparking with amber fire. “How dare you!”
she hissed. “Have you become so twisted that you will torment all that
used to be your allies?”
Adonis sneered at the angry Senshi. “You are one to preach about
loyalty, Sailor Earth. You are responsible for the death of millions!
Tell me where that fits into your code of honor.”
Thalia gazed back at him unflinchingly. A week ago, these words
may have cut deeply, but now they fell past her like so many dead
leaves. “Don’t even try to compare the two of us. I had no choice in
my actions. You are a poor, twisted creature who commits these crimes
of your own free will.” Power gathered around her, the failed attack
against Metallia so many years ago flittered through her head. She
thought she heard Mercury say something, but didn’t pay any attention.
“Your time on this world is done.” Raising her arms, she shouted
“CRYSTAL STORM!!”
“No!” Mercury cried, but it was too late. The huge cyclone of
energy and razor sharp crystal shards flew towards Adonis. The energy
flared and vanished upon contact with the magic surrounding him. The
crystals passed through, only to shatter on contact with his own crystal
form.
“Damn. I was hoping that it would have SOME effect on him.
Thalia muttered.
“It did.” Thalia turned, startled. Mercury had come up behind
her. “Though nothing like what you hoped for, I’m sure.”
“What do you mean?”
“Despite the interference of all of the different magics in the
area, I was able to complete a deeper scan of the energy field around
Adonis. It isn’t a field at all, but the extension of the magic
contained within his ceruleacite shell. He hasn’t been blocking our
attacks, he’s been absorbing then, as well as the residual magic that
you and Endymion drew out of the Earth.”
“Then our attacks have only been making him stronger?” Mercury
nodded. Thalia bowed her head briefly. She had tried to defend her
friends, her Queen, and instead, had most likely given her enemy the
power he needed to destroy them all.
It seemed that once again, she had failed her duty.
__________
Serenity had closed her eyes as she gripped Endymion’s cold hand,
listening to his breath growing slower and softer, his pulse fading.
She didn’t see the glow at all at first, but rather, felt a comforting
and familiar warmth grow to envelop her.
Opening her eyes, she saw only a white glow at first. Slowly, her
vision adjusted. She saw that the room was filled with light that
seemed to settle over Endymion, infusing his battered body with energy.
The pallor faded from his face, his pulse strengthened, his breathing
grew calm instead of pained. The numerous wounds and burns that she
could see on his exposed skin closed and vanished. The light around him
dimmed, leaving him looking in perfect health, like he were merely
asleep.
Serenity watched the transformation in a slight state of shock.
Only when most of the light in the room had defused did she notice the
steady glow that surrounded her tiny daughter that she still held in one
arm. Looking, she saw the cause of Endymion’s healing, hovering in the
air over the infant.
The Ginzuishou.
Standing, she placed her daughter in the crib that sat next to the
bed where her husband lay. She cupped her hands around the crystal,
feeling it’s peaceful strength, it’s warm glow.
<>
Serenity’s eyes flashed open. This soft, yet powerful voice rang
through her mind, her being, strange, but with a sense of familiarity.
She remembered Thalia’s explanation of how she had managed to teleport
to Serenity’s side in her cell on the Moon. She looked at the
Ginzuishou with slightly raised eyebrows.
<>
“I never really thought that . . .”
<> The voice cut her off. <>
Serenity closed her eyes. “But I cannot fight with them. I am
not Sailor Moon anymore.”
<>
__________
Sailor Pluto watched, invisible to the world, as Serenity hurried
out of the room, heading towards the battle. She closed her eyes,
feeling the stream of time. They had reached a crux, on which the
timeline forked in several directions. Much depended on the final
battle that approached. The fate of Earth, the fate of her friends, her
Queen. She could do nothing but watch until the path was set, and then
do what she could to help.
She knew that in all possible paths, there were no perfect
endings.
She could only hope that the cost would not be too great.
__________
Thalia huddled under her crystal shield as the blasts of energy
rained down around her. The ceruleacite absorbed most of the magic, and
she only hoped that the other Senshi were faring as well without a
similar source of protection. It was quite obvious now that Adonis
could easily blast them, and possibly this whole world to pieces. The
fact that he continued to play with them in such a manner did nothing to
ease her sense of dread.
The magical assault cut off abruptly. A white glow expanded to
cover the entire clearing. She looked up, shocked to see Serenity
standing in the middle of the field in her white palace gown, the
Ginzuishou hovering between her outstretched hands. Climbing to her
feet, she hurried over to the Queen.
The other Senshi, looking battered, but in one piece, also
gathered around the Queen. Thalia saw now that Adonis’ attack had not
ceased, that Serenity had used the Ginzuishou to create a shield around
the clearing, blocking the energy blasts he hurled at them. Thalia
noticed, with some morbid amusement, that Adonis didn’t even seem to
notice the Queen was there, and simply continued to attack, trying to
break the barrier.
“Does anyone have any ideas? We can’t hide behind this shield
forever.” Jupiter gasped. Her hand was clasped to her side, and blood
ran between her fingers. Thalia stepped forward to examine the injury,
but Jupiter shook her head.
“I was able to do further scan of Adonis’ energy capacity. He has
absorbed so much power, that a large enough blast could overload him.
But we have the same problem that we had with this idea before. Even
combined, our powers are not close to enough, and that is with us in
peak fighting condition, which we are obviously not in right now.”
“What about the Ginzuishou?” Serenity asked, looking directly at
Mercury. The Senshi did not return her glance, staring at the ground
silently for a moment.
“I calculated that possibility as soon as you arrived,” she said
finally. “The Ginzuishou has more then enough power to complete the
task, but without your Senshi form to protect you, the use of such power
will kill you almost instantly.”
Serenity looked at the dark figure in the sky, her face calm with
a serene beauty. Her eyes sparkled, as if with unshed tears. Of
course, it may have just been the light.
“He will almost certainly destroy Earth if left unchecked,” she
said to the sky, almost conversationally.
“Serenity, you can’t possibly . . .” Mars started.
The Queen turned towards her Senshi. A small smile danced across
her features. “My mother died for the sake of a world that had already
been lost. I have the chance to preserve a peace which has just begun.
As queen, how can I not protect my people?”
“No,” Thalia said. “You can’t.” She stepped forward, grasping
Serenity’s wrist. “You have a family, they need you.”
“They will have nothing if this whole world is destroyed.”
Thalia forced the Serenity to look her in the eye. “Are you so
anxious to have your daughter grow up without a mother?” Her voice
trembled. “Please don’t do that to her, to us. We need you. We need
your strength.”
“Adonis must be stopped.”
“Then I will stop him.”
Mercury looked at the Senshi. “As noble as your intentions are,
you don’t have the power to successfully complete such an endeavor.”
Thalia pointed at the sky. “Adonis never had this kind of power
before the ceruleacite linked itself to his life force.” She held up
her crystal. “I will do the same, if that is what it will take to stop
him.”
Mercury looked doubtful. “Even if you did somehow manage to tap
into your life force, you don’t have the kind of power that Adonis has
absorbed. And such a battle would most likely kill you, if the
ceruleacite didn’t drain all of your energy first.”
“It is supposedly shielded against draining my power,” Thalia
argued. “And if it doesn’t work, well, hopefully I can take him down a
notch or two, enough for you guys to finish him off.”
Thalia turned away, unwilling to listen to anymore arguments.
Serenity stepped around her, putting her hands on her friend’s
shoulders. She saw fear in the Senshi’s eyes, but also great resolve.
“You know, you don’t need to do this.”
“But I do. For you. For Endymion. For Small Lady, and the
Senshi, and this whole world. But mostly for me.” Her voice trembled.
“Beryl did . . . so many horrible things, hurt so many people. I have a
chance now to make up for all of that. I can finally reclaim who I
really am.” She leaned forward and kissed Serenity’s forehead. “You
survived for years and years without me. I am much more expendable then
you are. Please let me do this, sister.”
Serenity’s eyes wavered with tears, but her voice was calm. “All
right. But please, try to come back to us.”
Thalia nodded, stepped away from her friends. Her gaze flitted
over the other four Senshi for a moment, her mind filled with a thousand
different memories of the years she had shared with them. She focused
other love for them, and her love for Serenity, who had always been so
much like a sister to her, a bond stronger then blood could ever be.
She then glanced at the twisted monster in the sky, who seeked only to
destroy them all.
It was all the resolve that she needed.
She closed her eyes, swallowing to moisten her suddenly dry
throat. Her hand clutched the warm crystal, feeling its familiar facets
and edges. She bit her lip gently, the muscles in her arm tensing ever
so slightly.
Without a slight hesitation, she stabbed the crystal directly into
her own heart.
__________
She expected pain, rightfully, and was surprised to find that
there was now. It was odd to feel such an object protruding from one’s
chest, and, yet, to feel no pain. Instead, she felt a kind of tingling
warmth, energy rushing through her form. It felt familiar in a strange
way, and a part of her mind realized it was similar to what she
experienced when she transformed, except about a thousand times
stronger.
She opened her eyes, slowly, looking down at herself. Her fuku
had disappeared, and the pieces of crystal armor she wore seemed to have
integrated themselves with her body, becoming more like a thin,
crystalline, second skin. Over her heart, here was a jagged hole from
which spilled a soft blue light.
These changes should have seemed strange, but for some strange
reason, the seemed perfectly natural. Like her Senshi form, it seemed
that her power came to her quite naturally. She found herself drawing
in the energy of the shield that Serenity had formed with the
Ginzuishou. It was not the same sort of vulgar ‘feeding’ that Adonis
and his followers had used to gather energy, stealing it from weaker
enemies, but, rather, a drawing on her friend’s strength, energy she
knew that Serenity gave to her gladly.
Feeling deeper into the ceruleacite with her powers, she found
that she could manipulate it’s shape and structure. She concentrated,
expanding the crystal “skin” until it covered her entire body below her
shoulders. She formed a massive sword in her right hand, and smiled
grimly. Adonis had a lot to answer for. Closing her eyes, she formed a
large, delicate pair of crystal wings on her back. She took off into
the air, flying swiftly towards Adonis, her auburn hair streaming behind
her like a fiery cloak.
__________
Adonis grinned at the object hurtling towards him from the
opalescent shield below. It seemed that the Senshi still thought that
they had some pale chance of defeating him. It wasn’t until the object
was within a few yard of him that he realized that it actually WAS one
of the Senshi, Thalia, the cursed Senshi of Earth who had caused him so
much trouble. He managed to dodge out of her way just in time.
She turned and wheeled, her absurd crystal wings flapping. It was
then he realized that she had some sort of crystal armor on, vaguely
similar in structure to his own. Still, he had no worries that she
could possibly defeat him, being only a Terren.
“Come to play, my dear?” he said mockingly.
“No.” Her eyes flashed. “I’ve come to kill you.”
He laughed deeply, as if she had told him some horribly funny
joke. A crystal sword grew in his hand, black, cruelly twisted. He
pointed it at the girl. “And what makes you think you have any possible
chance of doing such a thing?”
She lunged at him in response. Their swords met with a great
crash. She grinned at him humorlessly through the crossed blades.
Adonis felt a slight twinge of fear.
“Because I will,” she said simply.
__________
Though Thalia had done much training in the past weeks, she had
not found a capable enough swordsman to really train against. She now
found her skills stretched to the limit against what she knew to be one
of the finest swordsmen in the Moon Kingdom. The fact that he was
larger and physically stronger then her didn’t help matters. It was
only her superior speed that had saved her so far.
“What’s the matter Terren? Growing tired?” He brought his sword
down in a blindingly fast movement meant to cleave her in two. She
dodged to the left, the blade barely missing her exposed shoulder.
“Not at all,” she managed, catching the bit of energy he threw at
her on the blade of her sword and hurling it straight back. He flew
straight up to avoid the blast, she followed him, sword ready in hand.
__________
“I can barely see them,” Venus said, squinting into the sky. High
above, two figure whirled and danced amidst bursts of power. Serenity
had dropped the shield when Thalia attacked. The Senshi of Earth had
absorbed much of its power, and Adonis was currently too distracted to
be able to attack them.
“I don’t like it,” Mars murmured. Her face was tinged with worry.
“It’s as if he is drawing her higher and higher up.”
“His flight is energy based, while Thalia depends on her wings.”
Mercury said thoughtfully. “He may be luring her up higher with the
intent of knocking out her source of flight.”
“Even with her crystal armor, a fall from that height . . .”
Jupiter left the thought dangling.
“I should be able to use the power Ginzuishou to cushion her
fall,” Serenity said. She looked at Mercury. “Shouldn’t I?”
Mercury typed a few things in her computer. “Theoretically, it
should work.”
Serenity gazed back at the sky. “Thalia,” she murmured, but it
was so quiet, it may have simply been a sigh.
__________
Thalia dropped slightly, letting yet another energy blast fly over
her head. She charged him from the side, hoping to catch him off guard,
but he easily caught her vicious swing on his sword blade. Quick as a
thought, she changed the sword to a spear and thrust. Her movement was
too weak, however, simply glancing off his chest. Spear turned back to
sword barely in time to catch his downward swing. The hilts of the
swords locked together, and Adonis began to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” she spat, struggling to free her sword. She
looked into his eyes, and for an instant was terrified of the insane mix
of hatred and joy she saw there.
“You are, Senshi. This battle is over, and you, my dear, are
dead.” With that, he reached behind her and released a massive energy
blast.
Thalia screamed, a burst of unimaginable agony shooting through
every nerve in her body. The wings on her back exploded with a
crystalline ringing. Her sword dropped from her limp fingers. In a
haze of pain, she saw the sky spin as she began to plummet towards the
ground. She would fall to the ground and be crushed by the impact.
Adonis had won.
her mind screamed, clearing her senses of the stunning
pain. Quicker then a flash, she reached up and grabbed Adonis’ leg,
leaving her hanging tenuously over the vast space.
“Get off of me!” Adonis roared, somehow managing to sound
petulant. He tried to shake her off, kick her with his other foot, but
Thalia hung on determinedly. In her free hand she formed another sword.
“I don’t think so, ugly,” Thalia said. With all of the strength
she had, she swung her body up, swinging her arm with all the force she
could muster. With a sharp snap, the sword broke through Adonis’
crystal armor, plunging into his back.
Adonis shrieked horribly, trying to claw the sword and the Senshi
from his back. Because of the distortions in his form, he couldn’t
reach her. Thalia hung on as he began to drift slowly towards the
ground far below, weaker, but still far from defeated.
“You know, I learned a couple of things about evil as Beryl,”
Thalia said almost conversationally to Adonis. He was too absorbed in
his efforts to shake her off to respond. “Mostly that they never win.
But also that they are so consumed in whatever they seek that they don’t
realize that the cost is far too high.”
“There is no cost too high to restore the Moon Kingdom.” Adonis
hissed painfully.
“You are wrong. Too many people have died already. Can’t you see
that? Even your followers are gone! There will be no one left at the
end of your foolish quest!”
“If that is what it takes.”
Thalia felt power gather around the shard of crystal inside her
chest, her magic as the Senshi of Earth, and the energy of her life
force. The glow from the hole over her heart grew brighter.
“You are wrong,” she repeated as energy continued to gather,
singing through her being. “The price is too high, and you are the one
who must pay it.” The power reached a fever pitch. “This is for my
mother,” Thalia said, closing her eyes. “SUPREME CRYSTAL
DESTRUCTION!!!” she screamed, releasing the all the energy that had
gathered within her in one enormous blast.
The world exploded in a flash of light.
__________
“What happened?” Jupiter yelled, blinded, as a sharp crack split
the air. Crystal shards rained down, forcing the Senshi and Serenity to
run for the nearby copse of trees for shelter.
“Thalia has won,” a soft voice intoned. The five turned,
surprised. Sailor Pluto stepped from behind a tree, her staff held at
her side. “We better do something before she falls from such a height.”
“I . . .” Serenity began, but Pluto had already stepped from the
trees. She raised her staff and murmured a short incantation. A bubble
of red energy appeared before them, with two figures hovering within.
The bubble settled on the grass and vanished.
Serenity began to head towards Thalia, but paused. Lying in front
of her lay Adonis, his crystal exoskeleton gone. Dressed in his
tattered white Royal advisor uniform, he looked like the stern yet kind
man she had known as a child. Impulsively, she knelt down beside him.
His eyes fluttered open and he gazed into her face.
“My Queen,” he murmured, managing a weak smile. “I dreamed that .
. .” A frown crossed his features. “Princess?” Serenity nodded.
Adonis sighed weakly and closed his eyes. “Princess, I apologize. My
actions were . . .” He coughed, and Serenity gently touched a finger to
his lips to silence him.
“It’s all right. You acted wrongly, but only because you thought
that what you did was your duty. All is forgiven.”
Adonis’ features quieted, and he managed to smile at her again.
His eyes closed. He breathed once, twice. Then his chest grew still.
“Serenity!” The Queen shook her head to clear it, then turned to
Mercury. The Senshi’s expression was lined with worry. “It’s Thalia.
I don’t think she is going to make it.”
Serenity hurried to the fallen girl’s side. Her breathing was
shallow. The crystal that surrounded her body was slowly inching its
way towards her face.
Pluto came to stand by the Queen’s side. “Thalia expended most of
her life energy to defeat Adonis,” she said to Serenity. “She now lacks
the energy to keep the ceruleacite from consuming her entirely. Even
the Ginzuishou can not separate the crystal from her body.
“So she is to die then?” Serenity said, her voice harsher then she
meant it to be. Her eyes clouded with tears at the sight of her friend
lying there like a broken doll. “After all she has done?”
“Not yet,” Pluto said. She knelt, and touched her staff to
Thalia’s forehead. A clear crystal appeared around her form, encasing
almost like a coffin. Serenity reached down and touched the surface.
It was a smooth and cold as glass.
“I sealed her off from the timestream,” Pluto answered, in
response to Serenity’s questioning look. “The ceruleacite can do her no
harm in there while she is suspended in time.” Her next words were
spoken hesitantly, as if she were afraid she was revealing something she
knew she shouldn’t. “There will come a point in time, not anytime soon,
but eventually, where there will be someone who can help her. But this
will happen only in your greatest moment of adversity, when the Senshi
of Earth is again needed in battle for the forces of the White Moon.”
She nodded to Serenity, and the other Senshi. “Don’t grieve for her.
You will see her again.” With that, the Senshi of time faded away.
__________
A special chamber was built in the palace to house Thalia as she
slumbered outside of time. Often, Serenity would go and speak to her
friend of passing events in Crystal Tokyo, the Senshi, her family. Each
time she went, she would study Thalia’s peaceful face, and wonder if,
somewhere, she could hear her words, and know how thankful she was.
__________
Years later, a statue was erected in the center of the sprawling
Palace gardens. The figure was formed of crystal, a girl with flowing
hair carrying a brilliant sword, with wings perched delicately on her
back. Inscribed on the base near her feet were the words of Andora’s
prophesy, provided by Setsuna.
The Light is reborn
Yet Darkness will follow
An Earthen Angel will rise and fall
Her power to Darkness
And Darkness swallows all but Light
Light entraps Darkness
Light to Darkness, Darkness to Light
The Light reborn from Darkness
An Angel’s heart weeps
And the Moon shines no more
Save for a distant Light
The Light shines on
Love shines on
The Angel flies again
The statue stood on a pedestal of moonstone cut from one of the
pillars found in the ruins of the palace on the Moon. On the pedestal
was a golden plaque, with the following words:
FOR THALIA, SENSHI OF EARTH
WHO SHOWED US THAT ANGELS CAN FLY AGAIN
AND SOULS CAN TRULY BE RECLAIMED
*******************************************************
*******************************************************
Deep breath.
Well, so ends “A Soul Reclaimed”, my first fanfic. I want to thank all
of the encouragement I got from both my friends and all the Sailor Moon
fans out there. The amount of e-mail I got about the story was
staggering, and I thank you all for your wonderful comments. I hope you
enjoyed this story as much as I do. And for those who are hungry for
more, don’t worry, this is only the beginning . . .
COMING IN JULY (hopefully . . .)
Before the Moon Kingdom, Earth was trapped in a dark age. Ruled by the
evil Empress Octavia, the people of Earth lived in deprivation and fear,
without hope. Only Andora, a mysterious blind priestess, dared to stand
against the Empress, and search for the five planetary warriors who
might stand a chance in ending Octavia’s reign . . .
“Priestess of Light”
a Sailor Moon Fanfic by Brickgirl
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