Full Moon written by: Gina Biggs (aka bunny aka haruka) site: http://secondlight.animehunters.com/ contact: secondlight@animehunters.com date completed: Oct. 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Episode 07 - Power From Within! The Pink Moon Crystal Awakens Four figures --two women, a man, and a small gray cat-- appeared in front of the Crystal Tokyo palace. The sun had barely begun to rise over the country, bringing light to the chaos that had befallen it. Warm greetings found the travellers as they entered the main throne room. "Helios, you've come. Diana, welcome home," Neo Queen Serenity melodic voice chimed. Ran and Tyr bowed respectfully to the silvery-white queen. "Sailor Ran at your service," Ran stated. "Sailor Tyr at your service," Tyr said following suit. "Thank you both. If you can offer any information on this new enemy, anything at all, we would most apperciate it." "Of course, your highness," the blue haired soldier agreed. The group was led out of the room by a palace guard. They followed him through the palace and the foreign soldiers soacked in their surroundings. Intricate details of moon design decorated everything and the crystal walls looked almost like liquid rather than solid shaped. Soon they were greeted with two large, white doors with crescent moon symbols in the middle of each. Once opened they found a large group of women sitting inside, Sailor Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Vesta, Juno, Pallas, Ceres, and of course, Sailor Moon. Their eyes seemed fixed on the large view screen. As the newly entered group focused on the scene being displayed on the screen they realized that it was the aftermath of the latest attacks. Suddenly, Ran and Tyr felt their hearts speed up and a familiar horror fill their bodies. "It can't be... not again..." Ran choked out. "What?" Jupiter questioned the unfamiliar voice. "...we fell witness to the same thing on our home planets," Tyr answered grimmly. Ran continued on, "The three of us just couldn't protect her." Sailor Moon's ears perked up at the final statement. They had never before mentioned that there were three of them. Before she could think on the subject any more a loud alarm blared. The screen zoomed in on a blinking red dot. "Another attack!" Mars shouted. "Okay girls, it's time to head out!" Venus commanded. Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury stood to their feet. "I'll be waiting for you in the infirmary," Mercury said before the four ran out together. Another alarm sounded and the screen zero-ed in on another red dot in the city. Sailor Moon and the Sailor Quartetto stood to their feet. "We'll take this one," the moon soldier shouted as they ran out of the room. Ten minutes passed and Ran and Tyr were beginning to get edgy waiting. They began to follow in the steps of the soldiers who had already left, but a strict voice called out to them. They twirled around to find a black cat with a crescent moon on its forehead. It was Luna. Artemis sat beside her. When they began to protest the cat reminded them that the queen had asked for their help in different matters. Before they could speak further, a voice called out for them to sit tight. They were met with three female soldiers they hadn't seen before, Sailor Pluto, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Uranus in the lead. "We're not the type to ask for help, especially from soldiers from other planets," Uranus stated in her masculine voice. The softer voiced Neptune continued, "but you have to tell us what you know." "Help us push back this enemy," Pluto ended. ****************** Outside, civilians were screaming in horror as they tried to escape. Sailor Moon and the Quartetto continued to fight off an onslaught of charons invading the city. Attack phrases were shouted out by the women followed by the powers they summoned. With each charon destroyed there were two more to take its place. Suddenly, Sailor Moon found herself overwhelmed by a charon and pushed high up in the air. She felt herself impact against the back of a building wall. She let out a silent scream as the wind was knocked out of her. A black hand of the creature reached toward her chest, her Sailor Crystal the target. The charon continued to twist its claw in front of Sailor Moon's body. The girl screamed as her head jerked back in pain. Translucent wings sprouted from her back as her Sailor Crystal appeared in front of her chest. The Pink Moon Crystal shone brightly, its features resembling that of the Silver Crystal. The girl heard a voice in the back of her mind. It was the same voice from before, soft, gentle, and mature. "Serenity..." the voice echoed. ****************** "So you have found no way in defeating these enemies? There's no weakness?" Uranus slamed her fist on the table in frustration. "They are fighting with the power of a Black Hole. It swallows up our light. How can you defeat something like that?" Ran shot back. Uranus turned her head, angry at their powerlessness. Neptune gently placed her fingers on her partner's shoulder hoping to soothe her. "Right now all they're doing is wiping out the small lights on the planet. Those without the glow of Sailor Crystals are easy targets. They're downing the resistance since they're having trouble defeating the soldiers of this Solar System," Tyr explained. "We'll fight back! As long as there are soldiers alive we will fight!" Neptune answered. "You don't understand..." Ran began, "when there are only a few left on the planet they can take it with ease. There is always one who will betray the guardian soldier.... there's always one who gives in to the darkness and helps destroy the world." "Even if all else was destroyed," a voice said softly, "hope remains." The women looked to the doorway. Neo-Queen Serenity stood, her eyes shining with light. There was a deep sense of knowledge in belief in her voice. "There will be no traitor." ****************** In a dark throne room, Opalite sat, her eyes tired and annoyed. A man kneeled before her with his head turned to the ground. "Rhodonite," the empress called out. "Yes, Opalite-sama." "The Commander Calcite will encounter those soldiers. She could become unstable under the given conditions. Keep an eye on her. Report anything unusual in her behavior immediately." "As you command," Rhodonite responded as he kissed his master's hand. ****************** A figure of herself floated in space. Sailor Moon realized that she was deep within her subconscious as she looked around. "What's going on?" she asked. The voice sounded again, "Serenity, you are letting yourself be defeated. The charon is upon you." Sailor Moon's eyebrows furrowed as she thought, not about the charon, but about the voice. It was more familiar to her than before. "How can I fight them. Our powers don't have any effect." "You have been unwilling to search for that power. You seem lost Serenity. Ever since going to Elysion you have been disconnected from yourself. You have not awoken to your fullest potential." "I don't think I know who I am anymore," Sailor Moon shouted as she turned her head away. "Are you not Sailor Moon?" "But that was my mother! Who am I?" "You are you." "I am me..." Sailor Moon pondered, "I am a soldier for love and justice." A figure appeared before her. The light around the body was so intense she could not make out the features but it was definitely female. It was the one who appeared to her before. "Who are you?" Sailor Moon questioned, an eyebrow raised in curiousity. The glow dulled around the figure, revealing two pointed odango and long ponytails trailing from them. Her arms and legs were slender and delicate. When her face became visible, Sailor Moon was taken aback in surprise. She was looking at herself. The figure reached out her hand and touched Sailor Moon's cheek. "I am the self that you lost somewhere along the way... the self that is waiting to be awakened. You are you, Serenity. Is that not enough?" The naked figure wrapped her arms around Sailor Moon. "Please awaken," she said as she closed her eyes. Sailor Moon flinched as the charon still held on to her. The Pink Moon Crystal shone with a blinding light as it bloomed into the shape of a flower. As the girl continued to glow her tiara disappeared to reveal her crecent moon birthmark. From the crystal a powerful wave pushed the charon away from her. Sailor Moon began to freefall toward the ground. Before she hit the ground the sound of a horse echoed in her ears. Underneath her she found a winged horse, pegasus, with it's rider ready to catch her. She landed safely in Helios' arms. The three landed and the priest placed the soldier on the ground. She stepped forward and closed her eyes for a moment. "I know there is a power hidden within me. I've seen it. Help me to find it again!" she thought to herself. "Moon Celestial, Make Up!!" she cried out. The star broach on her chest morphed into a more intricate design and the Pink Moon Crystal rested within it. Her outfit transformed, now more beautiful than before. Pink still dominated the design. When her change was completed the light dissipated and she stood, a new soldier filled with energy. The other soldiers just stared in awe. A second wave of energy flew from her, pushing the charons back. Some of them were defeated while others were still coming on strong. Still, she noted that the overall density of the creatures had decreased. Suddenly, they all fell back and the opposing side watched confused, but for a moment only. Before they could think too much about it, the orange haired commander appeared before them floating in the air. Her expression reflected her strong amount of displeasure at being interrupted. "Who has interfered with this mission? All who oppose me shall be destroyed!" she yelled as she unsheathed her sword. Her eyes glowed with a bright orange-red. "Rind Pierce!!" she chanted as a blast flew from her weapon. The girls fell backward. Moon immediately stood again. Another attack came toward her but she managed to stand her ground this time. Calling on the power from within herself, Sailor Moon raised her hands in front of her. The Starlit Moon Rod appeared before her. She whispered loudly, "Pink Moon Rebirth Attack!" Thousands of tiny crescent moon shapes flew toward the commander in a pink shining wave. Calcite felt herself pushed back as the continuous beam hit her. Before she found herself injured she sliced through the wave, cutting short the Moon soldier's attack. The commander felt herself shaking with anger. She almost could not contain her rage but stepped back and regained her composure. "This is fine for today. I will cut my losses and return home for now. These sylphs will have to do for now." As she floated higher in the sky she reached her arm out. All around the soldiers, civilians fell to the ground as the lights were ripped from their bodies. The lights entered Calcite's grasp and she started to vanish. Sailor Moon screamed in horror and chased after the disappearing figure until she was gone. Helios approached her and she fell into his arms, crying hard. End Episode 07. Episode Notes: I felt like this chapter wasn't as thrilling as I hoped it would be. I've just been so drained recently. Besides my comic deadlines to worry about I've got a lot of personal issues I'm dealing with at the moment. In the least amount of detail, a person in my family that I'm very close to is very sick. Please don't write asking me about it because I really don't have the strength to discuss it at the moment. I appreciate your understanding. Anyway, it seems like things might slow down for a while but they won't be stopping. I will still be working on the fic and getting chapters out in a relatively good amount of time. I just want you all to know that I might get behind little here and there while things at home are rocky. I hope you all can understand and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.