Once again five dark figures stood in a circle. They were in the
the main hall of the dark pillar. The shadows now seemed more alive.
Trapped inside the shadows dark figures swayed back and forth. Howling with
evil moans. On the throne of the far side of the hall the crystal glowed
stronger than before. It throbbed with power; some thing was waiting to
awaken. Inside a dark figure could be seen but it's features were obscured
with shadows and mist. It's head hung low as it's metamorphosis was taking
more effect. It pondered the glorious destruction it would spread across the
land.
"Would you like to explain how the life forms were able to reach the
palace?!" said Tuxedo Mask. He stood not facing Mars but towards the crystal
which hummed with life.
"I don't have an explanation. I assigned my agent of the northern
forest to take care of them. He has not reported back yet. It would seem
they are stronger than we thought." said Mars, her head was tilted downward
readily expecting her punishment.
"That was your first mistake! Underestimating your enemy will be
your downfall Mars." said Mercury as her face moved into the light from the
crystal.
"It makes me wonder what you were thinking at the time!" said Venus.
"I agree you shouldn't have left her in charge, I would have gone
personally to take care of the problem." said another figure in the shadows.
"Shut-up Jupiter!" Mars cursed as she quickly turned in her head
towards Jupiter standing in the shadows.
"Quiet! Stop fighting like a bunch of animals! You were right
however. It was unwise to underestimate them. To defeat them we must
work together. These people will be an obstacle." said Tuxedo Mask now
turning toward them, "The sun is about to move into position. We should be
able to use our computers to give us a look into the palace. We will be
able to see who out enemy is."
Mercury went over to a console on the wall. She started typing and
focusing on her work. As she worked a giant screen started coming out
of the floor. It flashed with power and the image of the castle appeared.
"Our scans show they are in the dungeon!" said Mercury sounding
surprised.
"Focus in on the dungeon and see if we can get an image."
The screen focused in on the room with the five life forms. It
then flashed again to show Tuxedo Mask and the four scouts.
"How is this possible!" said Tuxedo Mask turning toward Mercury.
"Give me a second. The scans say they're... no this can't be right.
My scans say they are from the corporeal world!"
"But how are they here?" said Venus becoming intrigued with the
latest developments.
"I don't know how. It would seem that they think it's us." said
Mercury turning her head away from them and starting to type once again.
"This could be very useful. If they think it's us then they
believe the war is over." said Tuxedo Mask.
"Then we should strike while they're distracted!" said Mars as she
pounded her fist into her other hand.
"No! Order the troops to retreat!" said Tuxedo Mask with authority.
"Are you mad? We have them where we want them!" said Jupiter.
"If we attack now they'll know it's not us. If we withdraw the
troops they will think it's all over. If we're lucky maybe they'll even
get rid of them for us. They won't believe anything they say. After what
we have done they'll think it's just a ruse. We'll wait until they redraw
their troops and then strike. They'll most likely send some one to retrieve
the princess. Mars prepare to intercept any soldiers form the moon
kingdom. As they get close to the pillar, kill them all! Let no one return
to warn them of what had happened."
"As you command my love." said Mars raising her head and turning to
prepare for the squad of soldiers.
******************************
"All rise for her highness Queen Serenity!" spoke a page in a loud
voice as Queen Serenity entered the court room and sat down on the large
throne before two table.
"You may be seated. Guard read the charges against these five." she
said.
"These five are hereby charged with high treason, abduction, and
conspiring against the throne. How do you plead?"
Tuxedo Mask stood and spoke, "Not guilty."
A hum of voices crossed the room at the out right defiance of
Tuxedo Mask.
"Let this trial begin. Would the prosecution call it's first
witness." said Queen Serenity as she shifted in her throne.
"We are here today to prove that these five plotted against the
throne to gain control for their wicked purposes. I would like to call
Cameron Denoron of the southern village to the stand." From the back of
the room came a 30 year old guard with short black hair. He was dressed in
the typical uniform of the palace guard. He quickly took his place in the
stand near to the throne.
"Your name is Cameron Denoron. Is this correct?" said the prosecutor.
"Yes, that is my name." said the guard his voice was dry and it
came out soft and scratchy. His face betrayed his feelings of nervousness.
"You were on Guard the night of the abduction. Are the people you
saw that night here in this court room."
"Yes." he said as he pointed to Tuxedo Mask and the others. Once
again the crowd began to hum with activity.
"Silence!" said Serenity to calm the crowd.
"Would you tell us in your own words what happened that night."
"I was guarding the princess. The rebellion that occurred in the
weeks before had worried the Queen and she had wanted the princess kept
guarded around the clock. About 8:00 that night her court had arrived with
the prince. They had said they wanted to spend some time with the princess;
to relieve her boredom. I assumed that it was ok. Her court had pledged to
protect her and I figured no harm could come. Then a few minutes later I
heard an explosion from inside. I rushed into the room and found the
eastern wall had been blown open by the Sailor Mars and the princess was
being taken against her will by the prince. At first I couldn't believe
what I was seeing. That shock was my down fall for Sailor Mercury then
attacked us. We were lucky to get away alive.
In the days to follow the black pillar rose from the land which
caused the rebellion and the scouts and the prince had sent a declaration of
war to the Queen."
"That is all. You may leave." said the prosecutor. The guard
quickly left the court room. He was grateful it was over.
"I'd like to call my next witness. I would like to call Eric Pasteur,
the commander of the guard."
This time an older man came in. He looked about forty and had
short red hair. He too was dressed in the palace Guards uniform but his
helmet was an ebony black.
"Your name is Eric Pasteur, and you were on the front lines to fight
the shadow armies of the dark pillar."
"Yes this is true." he said. His voice was deep and he spoke with
confidence.
"Could you tell us what you saw on the battle field."
"I had just given the signal to attack when I saw the Sailor Scouts
coming over no-mans land. For those of you who don't know what that is
that's the section between trenches which no one owns. They started
attacking the guards. They killed some of my strongest warriors with their
powers. They then drew back. It seemed like they were toying with us. Like
they were stronger and could kill us any time. I remember seeing Sailor
Jupiter kill my second in command with her lightening. I then gave the signal
to retreat."
"Thank-you that is all," he said as the commander got up and left.
The prosecutor paused for a second; both to gather his thoughts and to morn
the memory of those who had fallen in war, " As we can clearly see these
"people" are evil. They've killed countless numbers and should be punished
to the full extent of the law. I rest my case."
Queen Serenity then turned to the scouts and Tuxedo Mask, "Have you
any thing to say in your defense."
Mars stood to speak, "Yes we do. We are not the ones you're looking
for. We came here from another world to help save Serena." The crowd
started to laugh. This enraged Mars. She spoke to Queen Serenity, "Please
you have to believe us!"
"Enough of these lies. I have made my decision. I don't know how
you got past the energy barrier which protects us from evil but I will not
let you go free without punishment. The princess will be retrieved from
your pillar and peace will be restored. I hereby sentence you to death by
way of the crystal." the crowd gasped and then fell silent realizing the
severity of the punishment. "I have spoken let it be known that these
criminals will be put to death before the day is out. This trial is over."
"No! We're innocent! We haven't done anything!" screamed Venus as
they were being forced out of the court room.
"The lies end here. You disgust me. To think I trusted you. To
think I thought you were Princess Serena's friends. And you Prince Darien
or Tuxedo Mask what ever you call your self to think you who pledged your
love to her would do some thing like this. Get them out of my sight and to
the Hall of Princess Serena. I intend your guilt to be so great that your
souls will burn for eternity."
As Queen Serenity gave her order the guards once again bound the
Scouts hands and led them off out of the court room and down the hall.
They walked in silence feeling help less with out their powers and confused
about what had just happened.
As they neared the end of the long corridor a silver door started to
come into view. Imprinted on it was a thin crescent moon. As they came upon
the door the Guards stopped and one went over to unlock the door.
"What did Queen Serenity mean by death by way of the crystal?" asked
Mercury to one of the Guards.
The guard rolled his eyes and spoke, "You of all people should know
what that is, you were a Sailor Scout after all."
"Indulge me." spoke Mercury hoping the guard would answer her
question.
"It's an ancient punishment that can be brought about by the power
of the crystal. What happens is the prisoner is exposed to some things which
makes them feel remorse and guilt. Once this is accomplished the crystal is
then used to multiply that guilt ten fold so that the powerful emotions
literally tear the person apart. It hasn't been used in centuries but the
Queen has always had the right to call upon it."
As the guard finished speaking he and his comrades pushed the Scouts
and Tuxedo Mask into the room and locked the door behind them.
Inside the room was dome shaped and covered with silver and Gold.
At the northern wall were three statues and to the south were three doors.
The girls and Tuxedo Mask slowly walked up to the statues to get a better
look.
"So you all heard what the guard had said?" asked Mercury. They all
nodded.
"So what are we going to do?" asked Jupiter.
"I don't know, maybe we should go along with it until we can find
some way to escape."
They looked upon the statues on the northern wall. The three statues
were of Serena. The statue on the far right was Serena in her school uniform,
on the far left was one of Serena as Sailor moon and in the center was one
of Serena as the moon Princess. Each of them sparkled in the light from high
above.
"So what are these?" asked Mars looking upon the statues.
"Maybe these are the different parts of Serena's mind, it must be
confusing, it would seem her mind is split among being these three people."
"So what do we do now?" asked Venus.
"Well there are 3 more doors to the south."
"We might as well there's not much else to do."
They all walked again south towards the doors. The doors shimmered
brightly as the statues had did. On two of the doors silver letters were
engraved. The first one said "Friendship" and the one of the far right
said "Love". The door that was in the middle was blank.
"So what are these Mercury?" said Tuxedo Mask. By now they were all
turning towards Mercury to interpret the different things of Serena's mind.
"It could be her true feelings about her friends and love ones."
"So how do we proceed?" asked Jupiter.
"Maybe we should split up. I'll take the door marked love and you
girls take the one marked Friendship." said Tuxedo mask.
The all agreed and slowly opened the door and walked inside.
*************************
The scouts opened the door slowly and walked inside. Before them
was a long hall with a velvet carpet which reached to the far side of the
room. To the left and right were shimmering, white columns which reached
up toward the ceiling.
"Wow! This place is phenomenal!" said Jupiter as she slowly drew her
hand down the soft surface of one of the ivory columns.
To the far end of the hall they could see a shimmering pool with
lush green plants around it. They walked forward admiring their surroundings.
As they got closed they found that the green was a small hill that
was covered with lush green grass and exotic flowers. It lay on a small
island in the center of a dark blue lake. A small bridge crossed the waters
and led to the island. Down the front of the hill were ivory steps with aqua
blue rivers flowing down on both sides into the lake.
They slowly walked across the bridge, they were mesmerized by the stunning
beauty. As they walked onwards and up the steps they came across a small
building on top of the island. It was a large dome which was supported by
several columns.
"My God this place is so beautiful!" said Venus in awed delight.
They walked into the building. Inside they could hear the sound
of their own foot steps as they echoed in the large room. In the center of
the building were five golden statues of the Scouts as they would look as
princesses. Each of them shone brilliantly from the light coming in from
a large stained glass window in the ceiling. High above the glass window was
in the form of a circle. It was divided into four parts. At the outer
ring of the circle were the names of each planet and in each of the four
parts were their symbols.
"So Mercury what you think this represents." asked Mars.
Mercury remained quite for a second. She was thinking of how they
had treated Serena. A single tear ran down her face.
"Mercury, What's wrong?" asked Venus coming over to her.
"It's just...I was thinking of how we treated Serena. This place
is the part of Serena where she holds our friendship. She must have really
cared for us by the looks of this place. And how did we repay that friend
ship? I don't feel too good Venus. I need some air."
"Yeah ok, lets go out side for a second." said Venus as she walked
Mercury outside. It was the first time Mercury had let her true feelings
about what they had done to shine through.
As Mercury and Venus exited the building Jupiter spoke, "She's right
you know. Serena maybe a klutz and doesn't take much responsibility but
she's still a kid. She wants to live as a normal kid and enjoy her child hood
and here came along these people from another life time and her life is
changed forever. After all of this is over what kind of person will Serena
be? It might kill off all the love and happiness in her life. She might
become bitter. Oh god how could we do such a thing?"
"Don't think that way Lita! It's the crystal which is doing this
we have to fight it. It's the only way we can save Serena." said Mars.
Tears started to spill forth from her eyes as she pictured Serena being
turned into a bitter person.
"Promise me we won't let that happen. Promise me we'll let her
grow up on her own. Promise me they -- WE -- won't kill off the
joy in Serena's life!" Jupiter too was crying.
"Don't worry we won't let that happen." Mars hugged Jupiter. She
felt Jupiter's pain for she was feeling the same thing. Jupiter looked
upward at the golden statues.
"Please God let us save her." Jupiter prayed.
**********************************************
Meanwhile Tuxedo Mask was entering the door marked "Love". He slowly
opened the door. He paused slightly as the door began to open; Wondering
what he would find behind the door. He gathered his strength and opened
the door.
Inside was a long corridor which looked much like the hall the Scouts
had found. On both side were the same white columns. A long purple carpet
stretched forward and to a long stair case which reached upwards. The top
was so high that it was impossible to see where it led. He took a step
forward and began to walk up the stair case. Soon he came upon a two
statues which were placed on top of a thick column that rose from the left
side of the stair case. The statues were that of him and Serena yet they
were dressed strangely. Darien was dressed in silver armor which differed
greatly from the armor that he wore as Prince Darien. Serena too was
dressed in a long dress which contrasted with the dress she wore as princess
Serena. A little plaque at the bottom were carved the words "Lancelot &
Guinevere". The names were familiar to him. They were two lovers in
the King Arthur legends. He walked further coming upon another pair of
statues. This statue Darien was dressed in a long cloak which wrapped round
Serena. He wore a mask which covered most of his face. At the bottom was
another plaque it said "The Phantom & Christine". Tuxedo mask came upon
more statues as he climbed upwards. Some of them were of great and powerful
people while others were that of simple farmers. Dozens of plaques were
found at each set of statues. "Romeo & Juliet", "Mark Antony & Cleopatra",
and "Robin & Marian" were just few of those which he could remember hearing
before.
Darien scaled upward faster not bothering to read the plaques but
just wanting to get to the top. Soon he arrived at the top. The stairs
leveled off and three sets of statues stood before him. One stood to the
left, the right and the last was farther up still. A small stair case
reached up to it. To the left was one of Serena and himself in the form
which they shared in this life time. To the right stood Tuxedo Mask and
Sailor Moon and finally Tuxedo Mask walked up the stairs to see the last
statue. It was that of Princess Serena and Prince Darien.
He finally realized what all of this meant. These were
representation of their love through out all time. They were destined
to be together, they had been since the dawn of time and would be forever
and beyond. Now a different image filled his mind. He was remembering how
he had treated Serena at the park. How he was so cold to her. How he was
so cruel to her. How he said "I don't love you!". How he had broke her
heart. Darien felt weak, he felt like he was going to be sick. He slowly
dropped to his knees. A single tear ran down his face. He was shaking all
over. He looked up straight into the void high above. He let out a blood
curdling yell which filled the entire room. It rang out through all of
time and space. It was heard far away and it echoed and caused people to
shiver when they heard it. A silent scream heard by those who truly felt
the pain of hurting those we love.
Darien was dying inside. The grief he was feeling sharply
stabbed his mind.
"No! I'll save you Serena! I can't let the crystal destroy me!"
Darien spoke out loud. But the worst was yet ahead for in actual fact the
crystal hadn't worked it's magic on him. All these emotions he felt
were real. When the power of the crystal came it would be ten times worst.
