A small, dark room in the dungeons of the moon palace...
Flaming torches, creating flickering shadows on the walls...
Twelve female figures nervously waiting for someone...
"Are you sure Lady Zodiac will come in time?" one of the fuku-clad women asked in a small voice.
"Of course she'll come," another one answered. "Be a little more patient, Libra!"
"She has been acting pretty mysterious for the past few weeks," a third one said. "You think she has some sort of important secret to tell us?"
"I don't know," the second one sighed. "But if she doesn't even tell the queen, who is her own cousin, it really must be something very serious, Capricorn!"
They all jumped when a calm voice spoke up: "Well, you're all quite curious, aren't you? But don't worry, curiosity is the first step towards knowledge."
They all calmed down when they recognized the moon queen's younger sister. "Lady Zodiac," a tall girl called out. "You really startled us. What's so important that we all have to meet in hiding?"
The noblewoman quickly hurried over to them. "I have something very important to tell you... something very disturbing..."
"What is it?" the tall girl asked curiously.
Lady Zodiac sighed. "It's not easy for me to talk about it, Sailor Taurus, but... I fear the earth kingdom will attack us very soon."
The twelve other woman gasped. "You're serious?" Libra asked. "So soon? But... what are we going to do about it?"
"The queen plans to fight until the end... and I fear they don't stand a chance," said the lady in a sad voice. "So I came to a decision... There is a way to save us all... but everyone of you has to make a big sacrifice."
"To save the kingdom, I would risk everything," said a girl with bright red hair. The others nodded.
"Well spoken, Sailor Leo... Well, for the past weeks, I studied the royal books... and I found a spell which I could use to make a barrier that will protect the moon from the forces of earth. But, it will take a big amount of power to create it... The only way to do it would be: You would have to sacrifice your Senshi powers!"
The Zodiac Senshi looked at each other. They knew what that meant: Without every Senshi, the chance of surviving the upcoming battle would be even lower. But, if the barrier would hold them back...
Sailor Capricorn stepped forward. "I'll do it." Libra nodded. "Yes, I will do it as well." In the end, everyone of them was ready to sacrifice her power to save the kingdom."
"Excellent," Lady Zodiac smiled. "Now, put every single one of your transformation amulets into this bowl..."
The twelve Senshi all dropped their magical powers and took off the amulets that gave them their abilities. Stored within them lay not the powers of certain planets, but the power that was holding together certain star constellations. They may be further away than the planets of this solar system, but their great power made their amulets as powerful as the transformation sticks of the planetary Senshi.
As the last one put her amulet into the bowl, Lady Zodiac closed it with a lid.
"Well done, my Senshi... I will now go back to my chamber and prepare everything for the spell..."
"HOLD! IN THE NAME OF SERENITY, STOP!"
The loud voice stopped the lady in her tracks. The light of the room got switched on.
In the door of the room were standing the guardians of the princess, the Senshi of the inner planets.
"Don't trust her," Sailor Mars shouted. "She's working for Queen Beryl!"
"You dare accuse our lady of conspiring with the enemy?" Sailor Leo snarled. "Say that to my face!"
"It's the truth," Mercury added. "She isn't Lady Zodiac. We just found her dead body in her chamber. She is an impostor."
"WHAT??" most of the Zodiac Senshi gasped.
"That's right," Jupiter nodded. "I bet she's really a Youma!"
The beautiful face of Lady Zodiac turned into a diabolic grimace... her noble robes turned into rags as the Youma showed its true face.
"So, you found me out?" the creature grinned. "That doesn't matter... the Zodiac Senshi already gave me their power... Without them, the moon kingdom will be defenseless... my queen will be pleased!"
"Get her!" Venus yelled. But before the others could do anything, the bowl with the amulets vanished in a bright flash.
"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" shouted Jupiter.
The attack hit the Youma and made it scream in pain. While slowly turning into dust, it sneered at the Senshi. "It's too late... the amulets are now on Earth, scattered over it's surface. You'll never find all of them in time before the forces of my queen attack... and with almost half of the Senshi stripped off their power, the moon kingdom will fall."
And then, the Youma's face exploded in a shower of dust.
----
And the next day, the forces of Queen Beryl attacked... The Zodiac Senshi were armed with regular weapons, but without their powers, they were the first to fall. The planetary Senshi did their best, but to no avail.
And thus, Queen Serenity made a painful decision... to send their souls to the future, where they will be reborn...
----
Rei screamed as she woke up from her nightmare. Panting heavily, the Shinto priestess looked around her room.
She calmed down. Man, what a dream...
"Could it really be?" she whispered. "The Zodiac Senshi..."
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(Posted Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:51)
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