Rise of a Lady

written by: Gina Biggs & A.N.Ferguson
site: http://secondlight.animehunters.com/
contact: haruka@magworld.com
date completed: August 1998
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OAV 02 - Time Passes On

  Dark red eyes widened at the bright and beautiful land that stretched out in front of 
her. Looking first to her left and then to her right she marveled at the forest that was 
all around her. Hesitantly, she began to move forward in hopes to find her way out of the 
trees. She strided along, swiftly after a time, both grateful and regretful in her choice 
of clothing she had today. Small Lady looked down at her clothes and frowned as she 
continued to think out loud, "If I had known this would be the day I would finally see 
him again I would have dressed a little nicer."

  She began to think to herself almost forgetting her previous thoughts, "A crystal forest 
with so many memories--"

  Her thoughts were interrupted with a sudden feeling of her feet going from under her. 
She balanced herself before she fell to the ground, then decided to see what had gotten 
in her way. A large root stuck out of the ground from a near-by tree. "I must learn to
pay more attention. Come to think of it, it's kind of strange that the Trio disappeared 
as soon I got here. You would think they would have stuck around."

  "Strange... strange..." she repeated to herself.

  She looked over her shoulder to see a lake shining in the sunlight. It looked like 
dancing crystals on the rippling water. A frown appeared on her mouth as she shielded 
her eyes from the light. "Why? Why would Helios request for me to meet him and then not
be here? It... it couldn't have been..."

  Her eyes widened, this time with fear and panic, as she turned her head forward once 
more, "...a trap!"

  Small Lady cleared the forest in no time and caught sight of the palace her father 
told her about in some old story. It was the long forgotten Golden Kingdom of Earth. 
Once she was closer she could see small shapes that resembled people. She took her 
small star-shaped broach in her hand and held it high in the air while calling "Moon 
Star Power... MAKE UP!"

  After a scheme of twirls and ribbons her transformation was complete and she was Sailor 
Chibimoon. She ran forward seeing the four tiny shapes become bigger in her vision. When 
When she finally approached she recognized them as the asteroid soldiers, the Sailor 
Quartetto. "Ceres, Vesta, Juna Pallas? You four weren't supposed to be awoken until 
tonight. What are you doing here?"

  They remained silent, but stepped aside to reveal a fifth soldier. "We've come to take 
you home, princess," Saturn said softly.

  "Sailor Saturn!"

  The surprise was all over her face at the sight of her old friend, but she shook it off 
knowing there was no time for a reunion now. She gave them a brief summary of the events 
that had taken place since she disappeared and the situation that was now at hand. After 
a proper scolding from Vesta the girls entered the white palace.

******************

  The capital palace sparkled in the red light from the sun and water that remained from 
the rain shower earlier in the day. Time was drawing near and the soldiers still had not 
returned with the princess. Serenity paced the floor in deep thought as the final 
preparations were being made the outdoor dining hall. Venus' voice sounded in the background 
as she was in charge of the preparations. Jupiter had already give her instructions to the 
chefs and was now preparing the castle guards in case of some kind of attack. Mercury was 
with her staff going though a list to make sure everything was safty proof. As top physician 
in Crystal Tokyo it was her job to make sure things would be safe.

  Serenity's fear was growing and doubt was entering her mind for the first time in a 
long while. She walked alone as she stared up at the sky. Still dark and ominous they 
were but below them the sun could been seen, setting in the west. Everything shone with 
a dark, pink glow and she wondered where her daughter was at that moment. "It's times 
like this I always end up running into her. I hope she doesn't see me like this."

  No sooner did she finish her thought did she run head on into a raven haired woman. Both 
fell to the ground and the woman helped her queen up. The woman brushed off the queen's 
dress and then her own fiery red one as she began to scold her for not watching where she 
was going. They looked each other dead in the eyes and stuck out their tongues angrily, but 
stopped short and giggled. "Mars, I am always running into you."

  "Forgive me for asking, Queen, but what's wrong? Today should be a happy day for you. 
Jupiter has even give the chefs the recepe for your favorite cakes."

  "I know, today is Small Lady and my birthday, her coming of age party... but that's the 
problem."

  "All kids have to grow up."

 "That's not the part that's upsetting me, Rei-chan," she said as she lowered her voice.

  Mars whispered "I know. The Sailor Quartetto will bring her back safely, though. Everything 
will work out. I'm sure they'll be back before the guests start to arrive."

  "I hope so," the queen whispered as Mars dismissed herself to return to the preparations 
for the coming event.

  After her friend was long out of sight she shifted her vision in the other direction, 
toward the man she loved dearly. He was holding a gloved hand to his chest, but lowered 
it when he looked to Serenity who was watching him. His eyes called to her before he 
turned to make his way out of the presence of others. He disappeared through an open 
door and she soon followed.

  Now they were back inside the palace and all was quiet except for the occasional 
clattering from the preparations outside. She looked at him as he leaned against a 
wall and once more placed his hand to his chest. He began to speak in a low tone. 
"Serenity, I've felt a dark presence in my heart. Something has to have happened to 
Helios and Elysion."

  "What?" She said, then thought to herself lowering her eyes, "That's right, Endymion, 
Earth, Helios and Elysion, they're all connected to each other very strongly. If something 
happens to Earth, it reflects in both Elysion and Endymion."

  Her soft blue eyes shut for a moment as she listened to him speak, "The dark clouds that 
have been gathering today, they must be reflecting whatever trouble that lies in Elysion."

  She raised her head to him and leaned closer. She placed her own hand over his. She began 
to speak again, this time with more urgency "What can we do, my love?"

  "I don't know. The Sailor Quartetto are our only hope now. We must trust them to make 
right whatever has befallen the land else Earth will fall into darkness."

  The king placed his gloved palm over his mouth as he began to cough hard. When he quieted 
he pulled his hand away to find it lightly stained in red. The queen frightfully took his 
hand to inspect the blood. Her own chest began to hurt, her heart was full of worry as she 
wrapped her arms around him in a gentle embrace. The king and queen were more connected than 
ever before and she felt his pain deep within her.

  Around the corner, a woman brushed green whisps from her face and let out a quiet sigh. She 
closed her eyes for a moment as she pondered, "These happenings are very strange. Our problem 
might not be from this world, or even this solar system."

  Stepping silently, the keeper of time, Sailor Pluto, walked away unnoticed.

******************

  In the golden palace the six women walked cautiously as well as quietly. The eerie 
silence began to scare Pallas but she kept quiet with the help of Vesta. Soon the group 
came to a large corridor with many rooms. Chibimoon led them through the hallway and as 
they made their way deeper three colorful figures were spotted. Each was bound to the 
walls by thick ice-like chains. "Amazon Trio!" Chibimoon said in surprise, "How can this 
be?"

  She ran up to the feminine, blue haired man and pulled at the chains. As hard as she 
tried they would not break away. "How can you be here when you were the ones who brought 
me here?" 

  "It was only our spirits, princess." Fish-eye said.

  "The priest needs your help. He saved us and gave us dreams. We owe him our lives so 
we brought all our strength together to call you." Hawks-eye continued.

  "Helios... Helios! Where is he?"

  Tigers-eye raised his head weakly as he spoke up, "We... we protected him until we 
could not even stand. She froze the Maenads and overpowered Helios as well."

  "She?" Ceres whispered.

  The blond man's eyes turned to the pink and orange clad soldier behind the princess 
"So, she hasn't made her way to earth yet... thank God." He smiled before slowly shutting 
his eyes.

  "Tigers-eye? Tigers-eye, Ne! Ne, wake up!"</i> called the moon soldier in urgency.

  Juno walked up to him and placed her fingers on his wrist, checking for a pulse. "He's 
fine, just passed out."

  Chibimoon breathed a sigh of relief as she looked to the others. Vesta used a flame-like 
power and melted away the thick ice entrapments. "So, who's this witch that's been causin' 
all the ruckus here? Surely, I'll show her what ya get when you mess with sailor soldiers."

  "Will you now?" A mockingly harsh voice questioned.

  "Who's there?" demanded Ceres.

  All six of the soldiers looked around for the source of the voice, but it seemed to echo 
off the walls making it impossible to find where it originated from. Pallas squealed, and 
clung to Juno who patted her head. Saturn raised her glaive in an attack stance and Chibimoon 
held out her weapon, the Starlight Stick.

  The others began to calm a bit. Only Saturn and Chibimoon held their positions. The 
voice arose from nowhere once again. "I am the empress of a forgotten place, a ruler who 
wishes to once again to be known as the true darkness. I am Opalite of the Black Crystal 
Planet, a world in another galaxy."

  A woman appeared before them wearing a long silky dress hewn in lavenders and icy blues. 
The woman's white hair reached to the floor the skin on her body was so light it nearly 
matched the hue of her hair. She had eyes that could cut through glass with their cold 
stare. "You were foolish to think all parts of this Earth were safe."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" the fiesty Vesta shouted.

  "It means, my dear child, that I could not break through the barrier that was created 
by your beloved Guardian of Light, Hyperion. But she is not as strong as when we first 
encountered her."

  The woman flipped loose strands of white hair from her shoulder with a turn of her head 
as she continued, "Back then, she was alone, invulnerable and in her purest form, that of 
the Golden Aura, the light of the universe. It was then that she pushed us back to our 
world, it was then that I set out to destroy this galaxy."

  "She has evolved into a human form, and in this form she is finally vulnerable, finally 
in a form where she has less power. Love has made her weak and made her forget her duties. 
Still we cannot penetrate the Earth directly. Therefore, we have decided to come here where 
there is minimal protection from her. In infecting this world and turning it to ruin, it 
shall in turn ruin the Crystal World you love for it is well known that Elysion and Earth 
are strongly connected."

  "Why do you want to do this?" Chibimoon questioned.

  "This is my way of thanking your mother. In defeating the others, I became more 
powerful. Metallia, Death Phantom, Pharoah 90, Neherenia, the energy released when 
they were destroyed came to me and let me remember that blue planet from long ago. 
Through them I broke the seal that had been put over me. I remembered my wish to 
destroy this galaxy. In coming to the place of dreams, I can steal them from the 
people of Earth and dominate this world."

  "To hell with that!" Vesta yelled as she charged forward at the woman only to be 
knocked back by an unseen energy surrounding opponent.

  All five of the soldiers took their turns in trying to attack the woman in hopes 
to protect their princess but each was knocked to the ground. "What can you possibly 
do here?"

  The empress laughed and lifted her pale arm to attack for the first time since she 
appeared. An icy black beam shot from her hand and hit Chibimoon head on, knocking her 
back. Fish-eye, Hawks-eye and Tigerseye who had finally regained consciousness ran to 
the girl, but she pushed them away as another blast hit her. "What have you done with 
Helios?" she shouted angrily.

  Opalite snapped her fingers and a black crystal cross appeared with a white figure 
hanging from it limply. The soldier stared in horror and in her distraction didn't 
notice the sharp blast of energy heading her way. Being unprepared for the attack 
sent her down to the ground with the others. Many more shots hit her yet she remained 
unmoved from the shock of seeing Helios. She lie unmoving on the ground and the empress 
raised her hand to send the battered girl to her death. Before it could hit her all 
three of the Amazon Trio blocked the attack.

  "You are no match for me. Take your priest for I have no need of him." Opalite said 
as she dropped the man to the ground.

  "Regretfully, I am a busy woman and can't stay to see your demise but in my place I 
shall leave you with one of my beautiful followers, a demon from the Black Planet. Even 
though he is weak, you are weaker right now and he will tend to your needs." With that 
the woman laughed and dissolved into the darkness.

  A dark yoma fizzled into focus and as the soldiers weakly rose to their feet they were 
met with a dark creature. A black jewel rested on it's forehead. "Charon Onyx, right 
before they die, steal their dreams and make them suffer. I expect no less from you."

  Those words were the last they heard from the evil empress. She dispersed fully from the 
room. The creature lunged at his enemy satisfying its taste for blood. Vesta fell to her 
knees as she placed her hand over the large gash in her leg. The others took powerful hits 
from the creature as well. When the creature finally stopped attacking, the soldiers looked 
to one another. Their situation was grim and Chibimoon was not moving.

******************

  White lights shone as the people danced and drank and ate. The white moonlight added a 
shimmering air of enchantment to the festival. Elegance was all around the people and in 
the background the four elemental soldiers, Fire, Water, Terra and Wind stood on a 
beautifully decorated stage. Each was adorned in dresses colored to their liking. Close 
by stood Yukio and the other three knights. The women's voices were clear as crystal as 
they sang joyous tunes. One of which being their favorite, Moonlight Destiny.

  The other soldiers made their way around the floors in their beautiful gowns. Mars 
stood alone watching the stars. Her eyes were filled with worry. "The festival has been 
going a long time now and Small Lady, she still hasn't come back." Mars thought to herself 
as she looked to the queen.

  Their eyes met and Serenity quickly turned from her in fear of revealing her own 
thoughts. She took Endymion by the arm and whispered to him, "My heart, just a moment 
ago, felt a terrible pain as if Small Lady was..."

  "We'll wait only a little longer. If they have not returned safely by then we shall go 
ourselves," he whispered back as he once again put his had to his aching chest.

******************

  Chibimoon lay still on the ground, her expressionless eyes facing the white-robed 
priest who was slowly crawling towards her. Bits of dirt and sharp ice hit into her 
from the battle, grazing and ripping at her skin and clothes. Helios finally reached 
her and took her into his arms to protect her from any more injuries. "Maiden, maiden, 
wake up."

  She did not respond as he brushed a pink lock of hair from her face with his own 
battered hand. He looked up and watched as the soldiers were loosing fast due to their 
previous injuries from the empress and the new ones from the beast before them. Saturn 
stood erect and held the glaive high above her head. "The princess is not waking, the 
earth will be overtaken as well as out entire solar system. I must call upon the powers 
of ruin," she thought.

  A tear rolled down Helios' cheek as he looked again to his beautiful maiden, but when it 
contacted Chibimoon's skin, her hand twitched. Her broach opened to reveal the Pink Moon 
Crystal. Although she spoke, her eyes remained shut. Her voice was serious and cracked. 
All who were standing looked towards her, even the creature. "This evil cannot be allowed 
to destroy us and our happiness."

  Saturn stopped before she could bring down her silence glaive. Chibimoon stood to her 
feet as an iridescent light surrounded her body. Her skin was almost glowing with her 
strong aura as her clothes began to contort around her. She felt a transformation taking 
place. Her sailor suit had become brilliant and white. Golden sparkles shone on her and 
she felt her tiara disappear to reveal her birthmark, the small crescent shape of the moon.

  Charon Onyx, angered by her actions, jumped in her direction with claws and fangs 
bared. A sudden flash of light covered the room. Crystal walls became too bright to 
bear and the opponent recoiled, shutting its eyes tight.

******************

  The soldiers of the inner solar system approached the king and queen, bowed respectfully 
and began to question about the princess. Other guests started to whisper in the background 
about where she could be. The three outer soldiers made their way to the royal couple and 
Pluto whispered, "Its time for the announcement of Small Lady, has she returned?"

  Endymion shook his head and Serenity looked away. She began to speak, "I assume its time 
everyone here knew what was going on."

  Silence covered the room as the Endymion and Serenity made their was to the front of 
the hall. The elements stopped their music to listen. Taking a deep breath, the queen 
began to speak loud and clear, "My people, I have invited you all her tonight for the 
celebration of my birthday and of course my daughter's birthday. Tonight was to be Small 
Lady's coming of age party for she is now truly a beautiful lady princess."

  Lowering her eyes away from the people sadly she continued to speak, "The lady is--"

  "--Right here," a voice cut in.

  Everyone's eyes shifted to the direction of the familiar voice. There, standing in 
the doorway, were five battered figures. From behind them stepped Helios who helped the 
pink haired soldier to walk. Mouths everywhere dropped open in surprise. The room was 
deadly silent. Saturn made her way to the other outer soldiers who were in their sailor 
suits instead of dresses as Chibimoon and Helios made their way to the front of the room 
with the Sailor Quartetto behind them.

  As they walked, they passed by each of the other sailor soldiers who were at the front 
of the parting crowds: Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune & Uranus, Pluto, and Saturn. 
Closest to the stage were Water, Fire, Wind and Terra with a knight behind each of them. 
As group neared the front of the room even Hyperion and Alpha Centauri could be seen. 
Chibimoon's eyes rested on Hyperion the longest as she neared the front.

  The princess let go of the priest and together they bowed down. The Sailor Quartetto got 
down on one knee and lowered their heads. Chibimoon looked to her parents and said "Sorry 
for being so late."

  Neo-Queen Serenity no longer able to keep her composure, ran to her daughter and embraced 
her with tears streaming down her face. "Mama," the girl whispered smiling.

  When the two separated the king asked, "What happened in Elysion?"

  "There is a new evil trying to overtake the Earth through Elysion. A dark woman who calls 
herself Opalite."

  "My king," Helios said, "she knows how our two worlds are connected."

  The king and queen looked to each other, then to the Guardian of Light. She shook her 
head and spoke in her melancholy voice, "My powers are not the same as when I encountered 
her. I have been helping to protect this planet, but my powers will not exceed the Earth 
and this woman knows. Opalite will destroy the Earth by destroying Elysion. She will take 
over the entire solar system, like she has so many others before she was sealed away."

  "What can we do?" The king questioned.

  Hyperion looked to Sailor Chibimoon and spoke once more, "I think the time has come once 
again for Sailormoon to defend the earth from injustice."

  Neo-Queen Serenity looked to her daughter and took her hands. "My beautiful lady, it is 
your decision, yours alone. Will you go?"

  "I will not allow this. I cannot. My home, my people, my love shall not be destroyed by 
this evil woman. I am Sailormoon and I will protect the Earth with all that I am."

******************

  Later that night the festivities continued and the music played on. Further from the 
crowd of people stood the princess Lady Serenity alone where the music was faint. Her 
pink dress trailed behind her as she walked by herself. The could not be seen in the sky 
as the dark clouds remained. She stared at the full moon with her sparkling eyes and 
sighed. Helios made his way to her side. "Maiden, will you dance with me?"

  A smile overtook her seriousness and they began to twirl in tune to the melody together. 
The sound of a popular song began to play. Moonlight Destiny could be distinctly heard, but 
there were no words to the song. Their dance slowed as they moved closer to each other. 
"My beautiful maiden, I have awaited the day that we would be together again. I have kept 
my heart for only you, princess." Helios stopped and stared at the lady before leaning down 
and kissing her gently.

  Two soldiers stood further away smiling. They were clad in dark uniforms and the moonlight 
played on their skin as they stared at the couple. As Neptune leaned closer to the taller 
woman her oceanic blue hair blew in the wind. Uranus said quietly to herself, "Children grow 
up and time, well, time passes on..."

  Neptune, who had heard her, smiled softly and took her partner's arm. She then led the 
blond woman back to the party for a dance.

End.