CHAPTER 24
Neo Queen Serenity nearly fell as her long skirt caught on a sharp
object. Luckily, Sailor Cosmo Eos quickly reacted.
They were now standing before another brown oak door. Earlier on,
they had ran through several brightly lit rooms which held nothing but
ornaments. Asides from the scary red main door, nothing seem out of the
ordinary.
"Maybe you should try wearing a less troublesome gown, your Majesty."
suggested Pluto helpfully.
"I'll remember that..right after this battle." retorted Serenity.
She glared slightly at her chuckling husband and gave him an unladylike
punch. "Stop that!"
Sailor Cosmo Eos smiled at them. She knelt to pick up the object
that started all the trouble. "What is this?"
It was a broken piece of metal with a few words engraved on it.
Straining her eyes, Sailor Cosmo Eos faintly made out the words.
'Mugen Gakuen Musical 19...it must have broken off..." She raised
her head and was surprise to see that Serenity was crying and Pluto was
clutching her staff tightly. Endymion patted his wife comfortingly and
explained to a confused Cosmo Eos.
"That must have belonged to Neptune...."
"She had a small medal in her belongings...Mugen Gakuen was the
school she studied in when she met Usagi and the other senshi....she always
treasured that memory." added in Pluto grimly.
"Poor Neptune..." sobbed Serenity as she clung to her husband.
Sailor Cosmo Eos chose not to comment. Instead she opened the oak
doors. Inside was a large library with a cheery little fire burning in the
fire place. Above the fireplace was a huge portrait of a lady dressed in
magenta red. Yet the room was a mess, there were signs of a struggle. Only
a white couch remained....a shape was seen lying in it....
"Neptune..." whispered Pluto as she neared the lifeless body. Neo
Queen Serenity stifled a sob. The white couch was soak through with blood,
Neptune lay with a faint smile on her pale face, unheeding the faint cries
of Pluto.
"Sailor Neptune won her battle...but paid it with her life..." said
Sailor Cosmo Eos. She knelt and picked up a broken marble head which was
covered in blood. "But now I wonder...how could her medal be outside that
door....."
"Sailor Cosmo Eos, I don't think you really understand what has
happened here!" said Endymion sharply, Serenity noded her agreement, her
tears flowing freely down her beautiful face. Only Pluto remain looking
at Neptune, her gaze fixed on the sea senshi's calm face.
"I do understand....and I'm sorry...but Neptune could not have
entered through the door we came through..her blood only splashed on
this part of the room." gestured Sailor Cosmo Eos. Endymion and Serenity
stared at her incredulously.
"Your Majesties." Pluto quickly spoke. "Sailor Cosmo Eos is right
....all the main signs of struggle came from that direction." She pointed
at another wooden oak door.
"So..you're saying..someone took Neptune's medal and put it outside?
Why?"
"I never said that...in my opinion, I think it's someone who studied
in Mugen Gakuen Highschool before..."
"WHAT?!"
"If Neptune was already dead, why should they leave her medal
outside? To shock us? To lead us astray? No, I don't think so..." Cosmo
Eos dropped the marble head and it shattered on impact. "More likely,
it's someone who was also studying Mugen Gakuen.....who had the same type
of medal..."
Endymion nodded doubtfully. It sounded logical...but who could it
be? He looked round the room, suddenly realizing something. "Where's Neptune's
talisman?"
"It's in my keeping, you Majesty." replied Pluto as she patted her
Garnet Orb.
"Good...come, let's continue our journey..." Sailor Cosmo Eos beckoned
to the others to follow her as she pushed open the opposite oak doors, which
were splashed with Neptune's blood....
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"The portraits are so strange, Endymion." murmured Serenity as they
strode through the corridors.
"They were the former nobles of the Night Tribe, of which the Shadow
King and Queen originated. The first generations were people of astounding
knowledge and compassion...but soon greediness and pride took its toll and
they became even worse."
"You seem to know much about them" noted Endymion curiously.
"...." Sailor cosmo Eos pass by another door. "We once shared the
same planet..There were 5 main tribes: Night, Dawn, Arkans, Nomads and
Prita. As the Night Tribe grew stronger in strenght and greed, causing
chaos and destruction. The other four tribes finally merged together to
stop the war that had raged for destructions."
"That means, the SHadows were from your planet." exclaimed Serenity.
Sailor Cosmo Eos nodded. "Yes, a long time ago, a noble prince and
his wife dabbled in the dark arts and were banished into the Vortex by their
tribe King. But they managed to lure other members of the tribe to worship
them. 100 years later, they broke out and used the greediness of the Night
Tribe to bring destruction on our planet. The other tribes combined into one
force, led by the Queen of the Dawn Tribe, they had no chice but to wiped
out the whole Night Tribe, those that remained went into the desert and died
there..."
She continued. "After the war, the tribes became one and and their
ruler was the Cosmo Queen of the Dawn Tribe."
"So that's the meaning of your title." said Endymion.
"But that doesn't explain the part where Myrona appeared." added
Pluto.
"A few generations of peace passed, the 4th Cosmo Queen, Myrona,
had heard new of destruction becoming apparent in the Silver Moon Kingdom.
True to her fears the Shadows had once again escaped from their imprisonment.
Myrona approached Queen Serenity and requested a certain child..."
"Endyriana..." muttered Endymion, feeling heartsick.
"Yes, Endyriana. The daughter of the Earth King. Myrona took the child
and went with her loyal handmaiden, Sailor Cosmo Gaia to the battlefield. They
were unable to kill the Shadows, only binding them. The shadow King was pushed
back into the Vortex while the Queen was bounded into Endyriana's body."
"What! That means Mika was the SHadow Queen!"
"No, Serenity...Mika was Endyriana and had the bounded shadow Queen
within her body. The only way to reawaken the Shadow Queen was to take out
Mika's eyes and fill them with the dark power...." Sailor Cosmo Eos sighed.
The others were at loss at what to say.
"Endyriana was given the name Mika and remained under the tutelage of
Sailor Cosmo Gaia. When she was 10, she joined me and my Elites. She assumed
the title of Sialor Cosmo Gaia when her mentor passed away...Then one of the
last remaining Night Tribe appeared and was discovered by Seeress Myrona. I
had then ascended the throne os the 5th Cosmo Queen and banished her to the
desert. Yet, she went to the Cauldron of Starseeds and obtained the dust of
Chaos, thus opening the portal to the Vortex. The Shadow King escaped, and
went to seek out a new body....he found another of his kindred and possesed
his body..."
"And...your planet was destroyed."
Sailor Cosmo Eos nodded. "Seeress Myrona managed to put a spell of deep
sleep on the Shadow King before she died. The Elites, my guardians, used their
dying power to transport both me and Mika far from the Star Tribe...my whole
planet was destroyed before my eyes...."
"Cosmo Eos..." whispered Serenity in symphaty.
"The Shadow King vanished before I could take my revenge, probably went
into his deep sleep. I swore to follow him and put a similar spell on ourselves."
"And that was how you came here." remarked Pluto.
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"Here we are..." said Endymion as they reached the door at the end of
the corridor. "Careful, we don't know what's behind this door."
"We're already in the lion's lair." replied Sailor Cosmo Eos as she
kicked the door open.
"Cosmo Eos!" objected Neo Queen Serenity as Sailor Pluto quickly stood
defensively in front of her two lieges. Sailor Cosmo Eos merely shrugged in
response.
They relaxed when they saw the interior of the room. It was an eating
place with medieval decorations. They entered and stare in surprise at the end
of the long table.
A large hairy shape was lying snoring at the end, its slender hand
clasping a large beer cup. 'It' was actually a sleeping girl. Her long blue
hair had grown to an amazing lenght, covering her whole body with its unruly
locks.
"She's knocked out." observed Sailor Pluto.
"Indeed." agreed sailor Cosmo Eos, parting the left part of her long
hairs to reveal a beautiful girl.
"She looks familiar..." muttered Neo Queen Serenity, frowning.
"Is it? That's odd, considering--GET DOWN!!!" yelled Sailor Cosmo
Eos as a crackling bolt of energy whizzed narrowly pass their heads. Quickly
retreating from the sleeping form, they defensively watched a girl wearing
a witch outfit and her red hair tied into a long braid, but her front hair
covered half her face.
"She's..." Serenity's eyes opened wide in amazement as she stared at
the wand in the girl's hand. "PIKUROL!!!"
"Who?" asked both Pluto an Cosmo Eos, quickly avoiding another bolt of
energy. Enydmion quickly pulled Serenity behind him.
"She's Pikurol, one of the Deathbusters which we defeated...I thought
shedied with her sister."
"Hahahha" laughed Pikurol, nimbly jumping on top of the long
table. "So you still remember me, Sailor Moon. Though you looked different
then..." she appraised Serenity's gown with distaste. "Cyprine, our old
friend is here." She said to the sleeping blue-haired girl.
"Aaaaahhhh..." whispered Cyprine as she got up, her hair falling
apart to reveal her wearing the same black witch outfit. Like her twin, her
hair covered the right part of her face. "We've waited soooo long for you,
Moonbrat...we even let that Neptune go....all for you.."
Both Endymion and Serenity quickly materialized their staffs.
Even Pluto quickly raised her staff, her Garnet Orb crackling with
purple energy.
"You served Pharaoh 90 and sought to destroy Earth. You should
have died a long time ago...but since you've appeared again, I'll
not allow the both of you to hurt my Queen." proclaimed Sailor Pluto
menacingly.
"Sailor Pluto, the senshi of time-" said Pikurol.
"The wisest....and most lonely...senshi.." hissed Cyprine.
"We're no longer-"
"the weaklings..you once knew!" hissed Cyprine as she
thumped the ground. Several lashing forms of energy snaked out
from the ground. "Kill them!"
"Royal Moon Soothing Benediction!" Neo Queen Serenity
quickly uttered her new attack, creating an opposing force of
energy against Cyprine's attack. Her long golden locks were blown
backwards as the force of collisions between the two attacks created
a huge wind. Pikurol quickly came and aided her sister.
"Twin Stars Mirage Attack!" they both yell. A huge fiery
wolf-lion appeared and its mouth came yawning down on Serenity.
"Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber!" "Death Scream!"
But their retaliation only served to anger the fiery beast.
It howled its anger as their attacks seared its mouth. It changed
into a large bear and slashed its fist down onto the three senshi.
But as Pluto, Serenity and Endymion doved aside, they
heard another voice shout: "Starflare!" Surprisingly, Sailor Cosmo
Eos directed her attack towards a medieval painting on the wall.
The painting was consumed in fire and the howling beast vanished.
Sailor Cosmo Eos then faced the two sisters.
"I know that attack....one of my Elites used that...you
must have learned that from the Shadow King." said Cosmo Eos calmly.
"You..you!" stuttered Pikurol angrily. Only Cyprine folded
her arms.
"We have no quarrels with you..stand aside and let us face
the Moonbrat."
"Cyprine!" protested her twin.
Sailor Cosmo Eos only shook her head regretfully. Cyprine's
left eye suddenly blazed. "Then DIE!!!" The twins suddenly vanished.
"Pikurol Attack!"
"Cyprine Attack!"
Sailor Cosmo Eos quickly somersaulted forward as the ground
started exploding. The twins were appearing her and there at amazing
speed. Endymion and Serenity quickly erected a force field: "Cosmo
Eos, here!"
But Sailor Cosmo Eos suddenly was hit by Cyprine's attack.
She gasped in pain as she sprawled on the ground. Pluto quickly
counter Pikurol's attack with her staff and created another force
field over Sailor Cosmo Eos.
"S**t! That hurt." groaned Cosmo Eos as she got up.
"Ugg...Cosmo Eos..take the majesties with..you...out that
door..." said Pluto as she strained to maintain the force field.
"And miss this fun? No way!"
"You!..wha-" Pluto gasped as Sailor Cosmo Eos suddenly
reached into the Garnet Orb and pulled out the Mirror.
"Lend me this, Pluto." She vaulted out through Pluto's
wavering force field. "Hey, gals..over here!" She shouted. The
twins responded by blasting another series of energies towards her.
Sailor Cosmo Eos quickly ducked it and transported herself in front
of a shocked Pikurol.
"Look in the Mirror and see your true face." Sailor Cosmo
Eos upheld the Mirror as it glowed. Pikurol screamed and covered
her face. She stumbled back, away from the Mirror. Her twin responded
the same way, crying out in anguish as she doubled up, covering the right
side of her face.
"What's wrong with them?" questioned Neo Queen Serenity as the
senshi stared at the crouching twins who were groaning.
"Aaaaargh!!" Cyprine screamed and flew towards her as the force
field disappeared. Both Neo Queen Serenity and Endymion released their
attacks simultaneously. Cyprine screamed again as her body was enveloped
by their attack.
At that same instant, Sailor Pluto shouted: "Death Scream!"
towards a vulnerable Pikurol. She too screamed in pain.
Finally they saw the true faces of the twins. As they disintegrated,
suspended by the crackling power, their braids became undone and flew in
all direction. It took all but 3 seconds, but the senshi gasped as they
behelded the right side of the twins' faces, which were scarred beyond
recognition and with a burned out eye socket. Tears of blood ran out of
that empty eye as the twins stroved to reached each other.
"Cy..cyp..cyprine..."
"Pi..Pikuroo...ol..."
Finally their hands clasped and their bodies vanished into a bright
light....
Head for Chapter 25
I'm not going to say it any more!