Illusion of the Morning Star written by: Gina Biggs & A.N.Ferguson site: http://secondlight.animehunters.com/ contact: secondlight@animehunters.com date completed: 1997 (revised 02/2003) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Episode 15 - Love of Alpha Centauri! A Warrior Devotes His Life Two coinciding Kingdoms, ruling side by side. The Moon and Sun forever there to shine on the earth with their eternal lights. What happens when the sun's light dies? Eclipsed with darkness, evil envelops the hearts of all who dwell there and chaos reigns... *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Sirius stood before Dionysus, basking in the praise he received for a job well done. His gaze moved to the throne next to the king where Hyperion sat, frozen in place as if in a trance. She stared past him with eyes void of emotion. Sirius smiled as he thought, "Your suffering has just begun, Centauri." Then he spoke out loud, "My king, Dionysus-sama." "What is it?" "I thought it should be brought to your attention, my king, the willing deceit that Alpha Centauri displayed this night. He took great risk to our mission by deliberately ignoring Solaris as a prime candidate, one strong enough to hold Erebus-sama. He tried to replace her with a second choice match." "Hmm..." Dionysus scratched his wrinkled cheek in contemplation. "I wonder what would cause Alpha Centauri to do such a dreadful thing." The king looked up at his warrior. His voice was harsh. "Sirius, you have always held contempt for those placed in higher authority than you. This is no little accusation you make. If you cannot prove it to me, then you will suffer." Sirius' eyes narrowed for an instant, but he quickly caught himself before the king could see. With the wave of his hand, a holographic image appeared. It displayed the information Centauri had collected on Sailor Sun and Sailor Moon. "Alright," Dionysus admitted. "I believe you. How could he betray our Great Ruler? The day Alpha Centauri returns will be his last." Her heart began to race as the words echoed in her ears, but Hyperion's body remained still as a doll. "No..." she thought as pain overwhelmed her senses. ****************** In the Juuban Public Park, all the soldiers had gathered around the recovering Alpha Centauri. With their full attention turned on him, he began to speak. "The sun was not always an evil place. At one point in time, it had been vibrant and full of life. As a kingdom that ruled along side the moon, the sun's goal was to help guide and watch over those of the earth. I was one of the two Star Warriors who served the Guardian of Light, a sentient being also called the Golden Aura. Its power is what kept the peace of our mighty star, but that power also tends to draw to it those who would abuse it." "The earth was evolving perfectly and everything was in complete order. That is... until Dionysus appeared. The most recent queen of that time, the one you knew as your ruler, had just taken her place as sovereign of the Silver Millennium. Then made himself know in our solar system, rising out of nowhere and claiming to be Serenity's half-brother, challenging her right to the throne. Ever since our beginning, it had been known the Queen shall bear one daughter who would then take her place as rightful ruler when the time came. Needless to say, Dionysus' foolish claim was ignored." "He wasn't finished, though. When he couldn't get his greedy hands on the Moon Kingdom, he decided to try for the Sun Kingdom. The night we were attacked, I was called into the Golden Aura's shrine, which Dionysus now uses as his throne room, but at that time it had been a bright and beautiful, holy place. The feeling that filled me whenever I stood in the shrine was always one of utter love and happiness. I miss that now. But... I'm straying from my story. Forgive me." "That night when I entered the chamber, there was an odd feeling in the air. As usual the stone floated above a waist high pillar in the middle of the room, but something was different. The further I ventured into the shrine the brighter the stone became, until finally I had to cover my eyes. Then it spoke to me. The voice was strong, yet clearly feminine. 'Alpha Centauri, my most trusted warrior, you shield your eyes. Why?' she asked." "I told her it was because her light was too much for me to bear. She giggled, she actually giggled. In all the time I spoke with her, never once had I heard such a sound from her." "'If that is the way you think, then the light *will* be too much. Look again, Alpha Centauri. Uncover your eyes.'" "So I did as she said and I'll never forget what I saw. The tiny figure of a young woman, about the size of my hand, floated in place of the stone. A gold haze surrounded her, blurring the details of her face. It did not blur the flowing gown she wore, nor the hair that danced about her as if a wind I could not feel played with the fire which was that hair. I was taken aback by her sudden transformation. It was the first time I had ever seen the Golden Aura's human form. Breathtaking is the word that comes to mind. She radiated strength and beauty, and in that instance I fell completely in love with her." "She spoke again, this time gentle, yet sad. 'Centauri, you may wonder why I have changed.' All I could do was nod my head, as she continued. 'I wonder myself. I feel a great evil is stirring, and our kingdom shall soon be threaten by it. I am strong, but I have not reached my fullest potential. I'm afraid this force is growing stronger than even I can handle. Dionysus is led by an entity called Erebus. This entity is one that absorbs and destroys all things. They are both power hungry, and now they have discovered the strength I have. I'm afraid, Centauri, that I may not be able to stop it alone. I am begging for your help, my trusted warrior." "Fear? The Golden Aura felt fear? The thought was preposterous to my mind, but it was true. In spite of everything, she suddenly appeared to be slightly frail. At any cost, I knew I had to make sure nothing happened to her. I would have died to protect her. I still would." "She dismissed me saying it was time to prepare. As I left the shrine I encountered Sirius, the other Star Warrior and guardian to the Golden Aura. I had planned to tell him what had been said, but I stopped myself. Something in the way Sirius looked at me at that time warned not to say a word. He had an evil and jealous glint in his eyes." "That is when it began, the battle that is. As we stood there staring at each other, a loud noise sounded. The ground beneath us started to tremble, and I had to struggle to keep my balance. While I was distracted Sirius attacked me. I watched a shadow eclipse the gold sun on his forehead. It was hypnotic. I felt myself slip from consciousness, then everything went black. Easy as that, all my promises to protect meant nothing. Easy as that, I failed." "By the time I awoke, the sun was in ruin. All its splendor was gone. My world lay dead before me, and in the middle of it all stood a man, with two children. A formless entity floated behind them. From behind it stepped Sirius. It took but one glance to see the tiny stone in his hand. He had the Golden Aura! He gave her to the man, as if giving a simple rock away." 'I've got it! I've got it!' he had screamed maniacally, then turned to me as he calmed his voice. 'Allow me to introduce myself, the owner of the Golden Aura, your new king, Dionysus. These are my children Vega and Polaris. Come here warrior and kneel down before me.' "At first I was outraged. How dare this man speak to me in such a way, and how dare he touch the Golden Aura, let alone claim ownership over her. But it was that thought of her that lead me to do what I did, to change my mind. I kneeled in front of him, and accepted the dark energy he offered to me. You may see this as wrong, but at the time I thought that even if I was evil I would still somehow find a way to protect her. I would gain Dionysus' trust and eventually take the Golden Aura from him. Then the peace would be restored. At least that was my plan. Foolish of me." "Just as the transfer of energy was finished, a white light flashed. I heard the powerful voice of the Moon Queen shout, 'Silver Crystal Escalation!'" "The light grew brighter, but even that did not inhibit my vision of the queen. Suddenly the Golden Aura disappeared from Dionysus' hand and reappeared in the queen's. A horrible scream could be heard as the entity, Erebus, was sealed in a glass orb. It fell to the floor before us, then the light ceased. The figure of Queen Serenity floated above us. I watched as she put a lock, the sign of her kingdom, around the Golden Aura. Even as I stared at the stone, I noticed it was different. It didn't pulse anymore, almost as if the life had left it. I remember how odd that had been, but the thought didn't stay with me long. I was just relieved that the Golden Aura was safe." "Knowing she had taken away all forms of Dionysus' power, Queen Serenity allowed him to stay on the Sun, perhaps out of pity of the man. He had to promise her that his life there would be unknown. So we remained in secret on the sun. Life became rather normal. I ate, I slept, and I thought a lot. I had doomed myself. The only comfort I had was that Serenity was taking care of the Golden Aura. The young king spent most of his time in his throne room, pouting over his misfortune. The twins were growing, and Sirius, well, remained ever the same." "Soon news of the queen's pregnancy spread across the solar system, and things continued on as they had for many ages. Then, the night Serenity had given birth to her daughter, an odd thing happened. I was sitting alone in my computer room, when Vega and Polaris walked in. I noticed that Polaris carried a little bundle in her arms and when I inquired as to the contents of the blanket she showed me. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered it was a live baby. Without even thinking, I snatched it from her. I immediately regretted being so hasty when the eight year old Polaris started to wail loudly. Vega managed to calm her, and when there was peace I was asked where they had found the baby. Both shrugged. 'She was just laying outside,' Vega said. Polaris had chimed in, hoping for equal praise, 'I got the blanket.' "I patted each on the head and told the twins they had done a good job. I finally got them to leave by promising they could play with the computer later. Children... When they were gone, I took the chance to study the tiny life in my arms. She was an adorable girl, with a mass of red-orange curls. She didn't cry, but stared up at me with wondering eyes. She shook her fists at me, and I couldn't help laughing. The door burst open, breaking in on my joy. Dionysus entered the room, and walked towards me. He snatched the baby from my arms, much in the same manner as I had done to the children. He looked at her for a long while, and yet she still didn't cry. The king's greedy eyes began to sparkle, and I knew he sensed the same as I had. A great power lay dormant within the girl." "He left the room without a word. A meeting was called later that night to announce a new addition to his family. Dionysus stated he would raise the baby as his own daughter. I had a new mission... To protect her." "Time passed, and as children always do, she started to grow up. The older she became, the more she went to the moon, but every so often she would come back. When she did, she would spend most of that time with me. As she metamorphosed into womanhood, my feelings towards her begin to change. She filled the void in my heart that had been there ever since I had lost the Golden Aura. In a way, Princess Hyperion reminded me of my Guardian of Light. Slowly, but surely I fell in love." "You know from here what happened, so I'll continue from where she left off. True she was infected with dark energy, but that is where it ended. Her pledged allegiance to King Dionysus were the last words she spoke. For some reason her body couldn't take the shade power, and was destroyed. All that was left was her soul." "I didn't even know what had happened until the twins returned with the news. Dionysus left us as soon as he heard. He shut himself in the only room he ever kept locked. He did not come out for a long time. All the while I was pulling my hair out waiting. I was so angry I could have killed someone. I couldn't believe I had failed to protect the one I loved, again! Then Dionysus opened the doors and called us in. In the middle of the room floated the orb which housed Erebus, and beneath him was a clear glass case. I was shocked to see the wavering image of Hyperion inside it. Dionysus had somehow managed to trap her soul." "I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or panic. The king didn't give me much time to think, though. He said that he was going to place all four of us in a deep sleep. He would remain awake, until the time came when we would rise again. That was the last thing I remembered. The next time I saw Dionysus he had become an old man. He was withered and nothing like the handsome figure he had been during the Silver Millennium. He simply replied that it was time for our battle, then he moved to wake the others." "And that is the story of what happened as I know it. I felt you should know what you're up against. Either that, or I just wished to explain myself. I don't know. Now it is time for me to go." Alpha Centauri rose to his feet and smiled at Sailor Moon. "Sailor Moon, please be careful." "Wait!" Uranus commanded, as Centauri walked away. "Where are you going?" "I must return to the Sun Kingdom." Sailor Moon gasped, "But they'll kill you!" "If that is what happens, then so be it. It is a small price to pay to save her. I love her so much that my life would not mean anything if she did not live. I've let her down too many times, but this time I'm going to save her." "Centauri..." Moon whispered.

Alpha Centauri replaced the mask over his face, covering the scars. The cursed insignia still visible on his forehead. He turned, then walked away. His body faded until he was gone. ****************** He appeared in the Sun Kingdom, and walked down the hall to Dionysus' throne room. Without hesitation, Alpha Centaur threw open the gold doors and entered. Once in the center of the room, he spotted Hyperion sitting next to the king. Sirius stood on the other side of her, grinning evilly. Alpha Centauri tried to control the sadness building within him. His heart ached, knowing this was the last time he would ever see her beautiful face again. He was no match for Dionysus, or the blonde man for that matter. Almost on cue, Sirius unsheathed his sword and stepped forward. "You came back. I wouldn't have expected anything less from a soft hearted fool like you. Just what do you think you'll accomplish here?" Sirius growled. "Only what needs to be done." "Well, at least you have enough guts to face death like a man." Sirius raised the sword above his head, shouting, "Eclipsed Heat STORM!" The large man tried to block the flames that sailed at him, but failed. He looked at Hyperion as he was engulfed by the fire and saw a single tear streak down her cheek. In that instant all the pain he suffered paled and felt only love and desire to protect. Alpha Centauri impacted with the floor and the silver mask fell from his face. As he lie, unmoved on the cold floor, the sun insignia on his forehead was no longer eclipsed. It's glow was bright and full once more. His body slowly formed into colorful bubbles that moved to encircle Hyperion's body. Centauri's voice whispered hoarsely, "This is the one last thing I can do for you, my love." Hyperion's eyes cleared as she chimed softly, "My love..." The princess dissipated, leaving Sirius and King Dionysus in utter shock. Sirius howled in frustration, "Where did she go?" ****************** Back at the park, Sailor Moon and the others noticed a flash in the sky. They looked up to see a bubble that held the naked form of Taiyoukara Hogosha. She floated to the ground, and as she stepped from the bubble's light, she once again became Sailor Sun. The light faded out as she stared at the soldiers, her eyes serious anc clear. "The battle has begun..." End Episode 15.