CHAPTER 16

     She was falling...into a pit of darkness...yet she felt no fear, only a deep sadness. She had failed...but failed what?
     As she pondered, she sensed the tiny prickling of pain..soon it increased in force and she fell even quicker...screaming as the darkness yawn unendingly....

     Adelaide snapped her eyes open as she gasped in shock. A dream... it was all a dream. She massaged her throbbing head, her headache was a heavy reality indeed. Groaning slightly, Adelaide got out of the bed.
     'Huh?' the bed was wrong...the room was wrong...where was she? Adelaide winced as she pulled opened the window, even the descending rays of the sun still hurt her eyes. Now she remembered. The screams, the heat and the charred flesh at her feet. She had raged, unleashing a raw power that frightened her.
     Adelaide went out into the living room, silently approaching the voices talking....

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     "You two better tell us what really happened!" Setsuna demanded in a rare tone of voice.
     "She's right. You both told us over and over again about how the shadows were destroyed, and how you escaped. But what else happened?! And where are Makoto and the cats?!" cried Usagi.
     "All right, if you insist on keeping quiet, Minako...Mika, please!" Mamoru looked beseechingly at Mika. Both Mika and Minako were acting oddly.
     "We...survived the attack..." Adelaide's sudden appearance shocked them. She sat down beside her friend and looked at the others through lidded eyes.
     "Adelaide, what happened?" Michiru signaled the others to keep quiet. Apparently, only Adelaide seemed to be able to relate what happened. No one noticed that Minako gave a slight jerk and a tear roll down her cheek. She kept her head bent, still unable to believe what had happened.
     "There was a strange disturbance in the air. When we returned, there was a great battle going on. of course at that time Usagi and Mamoru weren't with us. They only arrived after the battle and carried me here." Adelaide said "Anyway, the shadows had created a battlefield within a ring of fire...black fire...Minako and Makoto were in it, fighting against the shadows..."
     "We heard that part-"
     "Please, Haruka, let me continue...Luna and Artemis were also in it. They were on each side of Sailor Jupiter. We were unable to enter the fire as other shadows appeared to fight us. A child...a shadow child appeared and played a flute... I..we lost our senses. The cats were immune to it and managed somehow to fling Minako out of the ring of fire. Then the music stopped abruptly and we saw before our eyes... destruction."
     "What..."
     "What we saw and felt was not of this world but our darkest fear and hatred. In reflex we unleashed our powers. Luckily, Adelaide, Minako and I were facing different directions at that time." Mika shivered again. "but Makoto wasn't that lucky."
     "But...we saw nothin!"exclaimed Usagi.
     "The 6 of us were transported to another dimension. We'd remain there until the music stopped. We were blinded by the illusions we saw. Jupiter used all her powers to destroy her greatest fear. ..Somehow, Luna's screech brought us back to our senses..." Adelaide slowly clasped her hands. "When we opened our eyes, the shadow-child was there, smirking at us...the stench of burned flesh was unbearable. I...I lost my mind...and...somehow I...killed the child. We returned and I fainted."
     "Surely..."
     "Makoto is dead." spoke Minako dully. "She electrocuted herself and the cats. Their bodies were just itty bitty pieces of charred flesh...and that cre..creature..it was just poking at...them... laughing at the same time..." the others gave a gasp.
     "Adelaide went mad..." continued Mika. "she suddenly whizzed forward towards...that...thing... At least the smirk was wiped off its ugly face...and she blasted it...also the whole dimension too... we returned...." Mika's voice trailed off as the Usagi's sobs became louder. The stark reality was too much to bear. The death of another friend...another companion....But this time, even Haruka was unable to voice any anger... their loss was too profound.
     Darkness soon claimed the sky outside. Yet only the cries of loss echoed from Minako's apartment.

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     The Shadow King gazed into the dark orb in his hand. His Queen was amongst them...his true source of power.
     'Do you love me...' the whisper of a forgotten memory swiftly went pass. The Shadow King stiffen and shook his head angrily. The soft voice had disturbed his thoughts several times. Try as he might, he was still unable to get rid of it.
     "Your Majesty?" inquired Persephone. She had sensed the subtle increase of anger in her King and was nonetheless worried.
     The Shadow King ignored her. He continued to caress the orb as he flung his thoughts outwards. Soon he sensed Hades' mind. The Shadow King's lips curled as he read the thoughts of his servant. Silently he withdrew from Hades' mind and returned to see Persephone kneeling in front of him.
     "...what do you think of the senshis?"
     Persephone blinked in surprise but replied loyally: "They are no match for us, My King, the others were foolish nincompoops to mess up the way they did. Any logical person would be able to destroy the senshis easily."
     "Are you implying that you are that person?" said the Shadow King in a deadly tone. Persephone blanced and mentally kicked herself. The Shadow King hated any form of self-praise.
     "Very well..." he purred "I will give you a mission, Persephone." He smiled at her expectant face. "Bring the senshis here."

     "NO!!!" Hades gripped the rail as he watched his lover disappear into the portal. He had arrived too late. Persephone's destination was a suicide mission. He had to stop her.
     "No, you can't, my loyal general." the Shadow King suddenly materialized before Hades. "She is perfect for the job." Hades whirled round and barely spoke through clenched teeth.
     "Yo..you...put...her into this messss..." he hissed out the last word.
     "Ahhh...now we see your true colors."
     Hades suddenly gasped and clutched the dark collar around his neck. He..couldn't breath! Soon, his head started to trob and his legs grew weak. The Shadow King knelt beside his struggling general and gave him a pitying look.
     "I could easily kill you..." he patted Hades choking face. "but that would be too easy....no, I'll let you live." the constriction round his throat vanished and Hades took great gulps of air. He eyed the Shadow King.
     "Do you remember why you swore allegiance to me? Maybe a little memory would do you good..."The Shadow King raised his hand and a yellowish glow surrounded Hades.
     A few minutes later, Hades screamed. "STOP IT!!! STOP IIIT!!!!!" The memories stopped their onslaught.
     "If she remembered too, what would she think?!" exclaimed the Shadow King in a fake feminine voice. The he laughed. "but then, you would do anything to keep her happy and keep your secret, wouldn't you? You approached me once and begged me to revive her dead body. In return, both of you swore allegiance to the Shadows." He gripped Hades shirt and pulled him up. "Her life belongs to me and so do you...obey me and you will live... defy me and I'll make sure you'll regret it...for eternity." said the Shadow King ominously, his red eyes flashing in anger.
     "I..I..beg you forgiveness, Your Majesty. "Hades swallowed his pride and nearly stumbled as he was released.
     "...good. Now listen well and listen carefully, Hades. Go and lure the senshis back here. I don't want to continue to silly game of cat and mouse anymore. It has ceased to amuse me. Bring them here where they will die and I can embrace my Queen once again!"
     Hades watched the departing figure of the Shadow King. He had no choice....

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     "Usako!!" Mamoru gave his wife a hard shake. She snapped awake and clung tightly to him.
     He stroke her hair until she stopped shuddering. "Another nightmare?" Usagi nodded.
     "...it almost seemed like the end of the world...ruins everwhere...total silence...no one left...I ran...then it kept coming closer..."
     "What was it?" Mamoru asked.
     "I...I don't know...but..." Usagi trailed off.
     "But what, Usako? What was 'it'?" pursued Mamoru adamantly.
     Usagi turned to face her husband. "It had your face..."

~~~the next morning~~~~

     "What did you do next?" Setsuna sipped her coffee and inwardly praised Michiru's handiwork, it tasted wonderful.
     "What else could I've done? I just reassured Usako until she fell asleep." Mamoru wearily wiped his brow. He hadn't gotten much sleep after that fright.
     Setsuna pondered Usagi's dream. With both Rei and Hotaru gone, only Usagi could be trusted to be able to sense the future. But her fledgings predictions were too blurry. None of it made sense, unless...
     "Setsuna?" Haruka eyed his friend in surprise. Setsuna was staring at Mamoru with a frightening intensity. Mamoru raised his head and blinked in confusion at Setsuna's stern face.
     "It's only my opinion...but..." Setsuna took a deep breath. "but maybe our next attacker...could be you, Mamoru-" Mamoru sprang up in anger.
     "That's impossible! I'd never hurt Usako! Ne-"
     "MAMORU!" Haruka snapped. "We know that! But what if someone DID control you, will you be able to say that?!" Her words hung in the air, almost immediately, the blood drained from Mamoru's face and he fell back onto the sofa, his hands clutching his head.

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     "Let me get this right." Mika pushed her red locks backwards, deftly tying it with a brown hair band. "Usagi's husband also known as Mamoru Chiba, is the next enemy? You must be joking."
     "No, I'm not. Your hair still looks a mess."
     "Thanks a lot. " replied Mika sarcastically. "You're getting as bad as Adelaide."
     Michiru smiled at Mika, she was a likable girl...so much like a young child...
     "Helloooo! Michiru!"
     "Oops! Sorry." Michiru blushed slightly, her mothering instinct was up again. "I was just-"
     "Thinking." finished Mika. "OK. Back to the subject. What else did Setsuna say?"
     "She's moving in with Usagi and Mamoru to keep an eye on them."
     "Three's a crowd. Those two-" the phone rang. Mika snapped her fingers and the phone appeared on her palm before Michiru's astonished eyes.
     "A simple trick." Mika grinned. "Hello? Adelaide! You're still alive?! Hey, that was a joke, a JOKE!" Mika winced as a string of expletives sprang from the phone. "Geez, you're touchy today. Huh? Keep an eye on Mamoru? You're the second person to tell me that."
     "Setsuna and the others are suspicious, that's all...Usagi had a premonition...what d'ya mean I'm lazy! That's the truth!...OK! Ok! I'm going! Bye."
     "I never thought Adelaide could curse." said Michiru as Mika transported the phone back.
     "A charming trait she picked up from Earth. Looks like I'me with you guys..."

     "Why were you so rough on the kid?" Haruka leaned towards Adelaide.
     "That's our usual sparring." Adelaide raised her eyebrow and tapped Haruka's nose. "I'd prefer if you weren't this close. If you were a handsome hunk, maybe I'll reconsider"
     "...but I could pass of as one." Haruka smiled at her impishly. "Maybe-"
     A sudden explosion interrupted her and a stream of debris flew towards them. They ducked quickly. The other people ran screaming past them. Adelaide squinted her eyes and saw a young lady emergind from the smoke.      "Uranus Star Power, Make Up!", "Star Cosmo Power, Make Up!" The lady watched the senshis approach indifferently.
     "Earth-"
     "Wait, Uranus." Sailor Cosmo Eos eyed their opponent. She had on a green tunic with flowers design on it, her brown hair was caught up in a French braid. But the look on her face was of sheer confindence. "What is your name?"
     "Persephone." replied Persephone. "Do you ask every one of your attackers their names?"
     "..not really. Persephone is the name of the goddess of fertility and also the wife of Hades."
     "Pah! Myths!" said Persephone contempuosly. "I'm here with an ultimatum."
     "Ultimatum?" sneered Uranus. "Who do you think you are?!"
     Persephone ignored her and faced Cosmo Eos. "Bring the Moon Princess and Earth Prince to the land of the shadows or else."
     "We refuse." said Cosmo Eos flatly.
     "Then die!!!" screamed Persephone as she released a blast of green energy. Uranus quickly shoved Cosmo Eos aside. The energy hit the ground and it formed a glimmering pool.
     "Avoid it!" Cosmo Eos' mouth set into a grim line as she dodged the repeated bolts. "Those residue can attack your nervous system!" Uranus nodded as she neatly sidestepped a forming pool.
     "Not bad, but let's see you avoid this!" Persephone's eyes glowed and the bolts turned into lashing whips.
     "Earth shaking!" Uranus released her attack. Persephone easily avoided it. Her whips continued their onslaught. Soon, she was surrounded by a ring of gleaming energy.
     "Let's see how you can defeat me senshis?!" taunted Persephone. "You can't even come near me!"
     "Stardust!" Cosmo Eos released a strong wind. "Now...Phoenixa!" A large blue bird appeared from the swirling wind and flew straight towards Persephone. The green whips barely touched it.
     "No!!Ugh!" Persephone gurgled as the bird flew right through her, blood sprouted from her chest and she fell onto her knees. The bird gave a triumphant cry as it vanished.
     Sailor Uranus gagged at the spectacle. Persephone now lay dying in her own pool of blood. Her green eyes stared defiantly at them. Sailor Cosmo Eos knelt beside her and placed her hand onto Persephone's forehead.
     "Regretfully you're against us." a pink glow surrounded Cosmo Eos' hand. "So I'll just destroy your insigna...maybe then you can stop hating us..." She took her hand away and a glowing green symbol of a tree appeared. Suddenly it swelled and burst into several pieces.
     Persephone's eyes slowly widen. Horror, disgust and a deep sorrow flit through her eyes. Unable to speak, she turned to the senshis and a look of consternation passed her face. Then she cough one more time and slowly closed her eyes.
     Sailor Uranus sank down at stared speechless at the body before her. However, Cosmo Eos only stepped nearer. "Starflare!" A blue fire surrounded the dead body and gave a keening sound.
     A few seconds later, only ashes remained.


Chapter 17

The Chess Set title page

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