Episode 04 - A new soldier arrives? The power of Sailor Crystals!

A horned woman kicked at the ground. Even thought it felt good to be out of the irritating light of the planet, she felt miserable. "Again, I've failed to capture what Lapis-sama desires."

Her frowning face soon turned as she thought of her forgiving and loving master. He had always taken care of her as far back as she could remember. "When the Empress Opalite-sama chose me he was the one who came for me. I left my home planet without a second thought and gave myself to him. He took the light from the planet and gave it to me."

As she reached out to open the door to her master's chambers the door flew open on it's own. Orange hair flashed by her eyes. After a moment she was able to focus and realized that it was the commander. Unakite stood speechless as her blood boiled with jealousy. Before she could find the power to speak, the commander stared directly into her eyes keeping Unakite from saying anything that might land her in even more trouble. "Don't go in there," Calcite warned before breaking her fearsome glare and walking off.

Unakite watched the woman's back for a moment but then turned her attention to thoughts of Lapis Lazuli. She swung the door open and her eyes grew wide with shock. She blinked once, even twice before she could comprehend what was going on. Being embraced by her master was not the commander, but her trusted partner, Jasper. Her skin crawled and her teeth were clenched tight as she balled up her fists. "That back-stabbing--"

"Don't do this," a distant voice whispered.

Unakite stopped dead in fear. She glanced around her to see the commander becoming lost from her sight as she turned the corner of the long, dark corridor. Her mind raced and she began to panic. One thought echoed in her head, "Was that the commander or was it...?"

She clutched her chest and took a deep breath. There was panic in her mind. Quickly the woman darted away from the room, too scared to do anything else.

Night had fallen upon Elysion and the sailor soldiers were fast asleep, worn from their battles earlier in the day. In her room, Serenity lay awake, wide-eyed with worry. She could not clear her mind of the thoughts that were racing around her head. "Why do they want Sailor Crystals? What is the purpose of destroying Sailor Soldiers? Why not attack the surface world?"

She turned her head toward the mirror in her room. For an instant she thought she could see her mother's smiling face. "Mama... I miss you and papa. I wonder how things are in Crystal Tokyo. Is everything alright?"

Suddenly, she jumped to an upright position. The idea that Crystal Tokyo could be suffering from these attacks in Elysion scared her. She squinted her eyes shut for an instant to try to calm herself. It was no use. Soon enough she sprang from the bed, grabbed her pink silk robe, and swiftly walked out the door. As she passed by her friends' rooms she made sure to be very quiet, hoping not to wake them. When she was a good deal out of range she picked up her pace again and walked down the halls of the castle.

Serenity came to a spiral staircase that led high up into one of the castle's towers. She wasted no time in beginning her journey up the long set of stairs. As she neared the top, she could see a light flickering dimly. The source soon came into view. It was a single candle lit for the priest of Elysion. The princess was only half surprised to find him there and took comfort in his presence. He turned his eyes and met her stare. "My maiden," he said calmly, "what brings you here so late at night?"

"I couldn't sleep. I'm worried about everyone back home."

"Maiden, there is no need to worry. Come here and look."

The princess moved to the window where Helios stood and looked out. Her eyes were filled with the beauty of Elysion. The moonlight reflected off the crystal below giving the illusion of hundreds of stars twinkling brightly. "Elysion is still standing and shinning brightly. As long as this is so, Earth will also continue to shine."

"Helios, you've always known how to ease my mind," the lady whispered to him.

The priest raised his arm behind the pink-haired woman thinking to place it on her shoulder, but then pulled himself back. The princess felt his movements and a slight blush raised on her cheeks. She leaned her body next to his, snuggling close to him. He once again raised his arm, this time feeling confident enough to place his hand on her skin. The two stood quietly watching over Elysion.

A violent rumbling shook the couple. They looked up at the source to find the roof being forcible removed from the tower. Helios moved his body protectively around the princess as there was no time to get out of the way. Debris crashed around them.

Outside, Jasper and Unakite floated in the air. Their arms extended in front of them as glowing, black energy emitted. The force was ripping at the roof, breaking it apart in a violent fashion. Finally came loose. As their attention moved toward the inhabitants they released the broken roof allowing it to crash into the ground below.

Helios whistled loudly and a white winged horse materialized in front of the couple. Unakite, seeing this, straightened her body and flew toward the tower at frightening speed. Just before impact, the pegasus managed to move out of harm's way, carrying both Helios and Lady Serenity on its back. The pegasus landed on the ground and the riders dismounted. "Maiden, transform! I'll hold them off!"

"Alright!"

The princess ran from the priest's side and toward a safer spot. Coming into view were the other girls. "What's going on?!" Juno shouted over the deafening crashing sounds in the background.

"It's another attack. We have to transform, now! Moon Star Power! Make Up!"

"Ceres Asteroid Power! Make Up!"

"Vesta Asteroid Power! Make Up!"

"Pallas Asteroid Power! Make Up!"

"Juno Asteroid Power! Make Up!"

Now ready for action the five girls ran toward the battle ahead. Sailor Moon stopped in horror as she saw the wreckage the enemies had caused in such a short time. Not only the tower had fallen but adjoining sections had fallen away. "Elysion is being destroyed!"

"We have to lead them away from the palace!" Ceres called out.

"Easily done!" Vesta yelled. "Amazones Virgin Hearth!"

The ground in front of her gave way to a red, rectangular shape. From inside the shape burst white hot flames in the form of a woman armed with a scepter. She flew toward the hovering women above and took one full swing of her weapon before disbursing in the cool night air.

"You missed Vesta!" Juno criticized.

"No I didn't, look!" she said, pointing at the women who were now flying toward them.

"Great! Everyone, run!" Ceres commanded.

The girls turned and headed for the lake. The two chased after them, glowing with power. Sailor Moon, however, was able to slip out of the chase. She turned back determined to find Helios.

In the small space ship, Lapis Lazuli lay on a rather uncomfortable bed in his chambers. His face fore a content smile as he remain staring up at the ceiling. His commanding officer sat in a chair across from him. Her face sour with his presence. "However did you manage to get those two to get along after what happened?" the woman questioned.

"What are you talking about?"

"You mean she didn't say anything after--"

"After what? Make some sense for once, Commander."

"Unakite saw you and Jasper together, after I had... she didn't say ANYTHING?"

"You're saying that my little Unakite saw me with another woman and didn't say anything about it? Impossible."

"Exactly. Lapis Lazuli, once again you have proven yourself to be unreliable! I see no other possible choice except to extinguish the light within you."

Lapis jumped to his feet in a panic. "Yo-you can't do that!"

The orange haired woman's eyes narrowed as she held out her hand. "I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, Lapis."

"Wait! You can't be serious!"

"Clean up your mess! Or this shall be your last night alive."

Trees lined with soft crystal fell all around them. The Sailor Quartetto had led the women out of the way of the palace but the rest of Elysion was now suffering as well. "What can we do?" Pallas cried.

After diving out of the way of another falling tree, Juno shouted out to the others. " What about a group attack? If we could hit them all at once we could--"

"Not enough time!" Ceres called back.

"What then?" Vesta yelled.

"I don't know!" Ceres answered.

Juno looked around. "Hey, where's Lady?"

In the aftermath of the enemies' destruction, Sailor Moon frantically searched around for her dear friend. "Helios! Helios!" she cried.

Tears began streaming down her face. Then she caught sight of the winged horse standing not too far away. It seemed to be nipping at something on the ground. Moon ran toward him and she soon saw what Pegasus saw. There lay the priest, unconscious. As she kneeled close to him she leaned down and rested her head on his chest. His heart was beating, he was breathing. She looked up at the animal above her and stroked it's long face. "Thank you for watching over him."

The pegasus nodded its head and then disbursed into a white mist. The princess soldier stroked the man's face gently, hoping to wake him. "Helios..." she called softly.

He did not move. She turned his head so that it was facing hers. She then noticed the scratches on the cheek that had been turned away as well as his hair stained lightly in a red color. She touched the colored area and retracted it to inspect it. Blood. "He must have been his by one of the falling pieces from the tower! I've got to wrap the wound."

Without hesitation she ripped at her skirt. She managed to rip enough to make a fairly nice length of cloth for a bandage. She quickly covered the wound. "His face is so pale," she thought to herself. "What can I do?"

A crashing could be heard in the distance. "They haven't managed to defeat the enemy but I can't leave Helios like this. He could die."

"We shall attend to Helios, Princess," a white haired woman cooed.

"Maenades."

The second woman kneeled down next to the princess and smiled gently. "Please protect this world, Sailor Moon."

Determination filled in her deep red eyes. She nodded and ran toward the lake. When she approached, she felt sick with the sight before her. Everything was being destroyed. Without another thought she raised her weapon and screamed out her attack. "PINK LADY'S FREEZING KISS!"

The blast of energy flew at the women, scratching Unakite's shoulder. Blood trickled down her arm and onto her long green glove. Before she could fly toward the soldier, Jasper gave her a crooked smile. "You're being so very diligent in your work today, Unakite."

Boiling over with anger the horned woman turned to her companion. "How could you do this?"

"Do what?" the cat woman asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Lapis-sama is mine!"

"Is that what you're worried about? How childish," she laughed. "I'm aware of your feelings for him."

"Then why?"

"Because Lapis-sama doesn't mind sharing himself with me."

A blood curdling scream escaped from Unakite. A dark glowing appeared around her body as her anger began to take control.

Below, the soldiers watched in surprise. "What's going on up there?" Vesta wondered outloud.

"A breaking of ranks maybe?" Juno offered.

Sailor Moon ran toward them. "Princess!" Ceres shouted.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

Pallas embraced the girl. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

A booming sound once again drew their attention to the sky. In a veil of smoke Unakite charged at Jasper. She was calling on all her strength as she gained speed. In the back of her mind she once again heard that voice warning her. "Don't do this. You will loose."

Jasper, having had enough of her friend's stupidity, raised her arm in front of her. She bit her lip with her fangs and closed her eyes. The smoke around her transformed into a solid shape, a large lion shape. It's jaws opened wide and pounced at Unakite, delivering a fatal blow.

Lapis appeared in the air and watched as the horned girl fell to the ground. His eyes clamped shut as she turned his head away. "Dammit!" he whispered.

The cat woman noticed his presence and leapt into his arms. The two of them disappeared, leaving the other woman behind. As she reached the ground, Sailor Moon ran to her side. "What's happened? Why did you attack your companion?"

"She betrayed me.... I had no choice. I could not allow her to... humiliate me any longer." Unakite whispered on hard breaths.

"What are you people after?" Ceres asked.

"Why should I tell you?" Unakite spat.

Sailor Moon lifted the woman into her arms. "Let go of me," the woman complained. "I do not wish for pity from the likes of you."

"I won't let go of you."

The woman's eyes widened at the girl's kindness. Angry, she turned her head from the princess. "I serve Lapis-sama until the end. I will tell you... nothing..." she trailed off as she drew her last breath.

Moon closed her eyes as the woman's body began to disappear in a colorful array of bubbles. The other girls' eyes fixed on what the pink haired girl was holding. When she opened her eyes once more she found that in her hands was a shining Sailor Crystal. "What on earth?" was all she could muster as she stared down at the twinkling light.

End Episode 04.