The Celestial Warrior

Part Seven: Nightmare! The Time is at Hand.


She found herself in darkness. There was the slow sound of water dripping somewhere in the background, and a chill drifted through the air. Normally, cold would never bother her, but it did now. There must be something different in this place, something evil, no doubt. She took in a deep breath of the air, and nearly recoiled as it chilled her nostrils to the point of pain. Brushing her nose quickly to warm it up again, she turned around in the dark, hoping to recognize something.

There were two shadows standing behind her. One with the familiar lop-eared pony tails and the other with the top hat and cape. Assured of their presence, she nodded to them and turned back to the sound of water. Listening closely, she could hear water running and decided to follow it. Her boots made no noise on the cave floor, which wasn\'t always good, but she decided to worry about that later.

After what seemed like forever, they reached an opening in the cave walls. It lead to an underground lake, with large formations of crystals and stalagtites that resembled teeth than a landscape. She had an awful feeling about this place and was just about to speak a warning, when her little blonde companion went running to one of the crystals near the lake, hoping for a souvenir. \"Sailor Moon, no!\" she heard herself scream, but knew that her mouth didn\'t move.

The little girl paid no attention. Her male companion dashed over to pull her away. Then, without any warning, a cone of dark water shot out of the pool, hitting the ceiling and knocking some of the rocks loose. She dodged the stones as they pierced the floor. As she found a safe place to stand, she looked at the column of water and saw eyes glowing in it. She knew right away where she was and who was playing these games to them.

In a heartbeat, she lengthened her nails into claws and leaped at the vision. Her nails struck flesh, and an inhuman wail filled the cavern. The water dissipated, revealing Dwersis locked in her cat-like grip. She smiled with evil intent as she burrowed her fingers deeper into the daemon\'s back, making her scream more.

Never in her whole life was the bloodlust this strong in her. With all that happened to her and her loved ones, she wanted to kill Metallia herself, but her daughter will do this time. Releasing one hand, she formed her sword as was ready to cut her head off, but the daemon took a quick dive underwater, nearly knocking her loose. She could hear her friends call out her name before the water closed around her ears.

Damn, I\'m not a water fighter, but I\'ll kill you know matter where we take this, she thought more that spoke. She felt the need to hold her breath, although it wasn\'t necessary to her. She was slammed into the bottom of the pool, knocking the wind out of her anyway, but she never loosened her grip on Dwersis or her sword. The daemon got angrier, pulled her arms free and yanked her off savagely. As soon as she regained her sense of position, she kicked off the floor and flew as fast as she could out of the water.

She exploded out of the pool, flipping end over end and landing back on the lake\'s shore. The other two ran to her side, but made sure that she was in front. It was more her battle than theirs. Dwersis followed her and hovered over the water. \"You\'re time is up,\" she hissed. \"You should have done something when you had the chance. Now it\'s too late.\"

Dwersis dove for her, claws and fangs ready for the kill. She held her sword out in front of her, ready to cleave her in two. In a flash, the attack was changed, sending the three falling to the ground, her sword skittering from her hand. Where did that come from? she questioned herself. Too late to recover it, the daemon was on top of her, clawing at her uniform. Ignoring the pain, she reached up and wrapped her hands around her neck and squeezed with all her might. It made no difference, the rendering continued.

In a swift move, Dwersis reached up with a taloned hand and plunged it into her chest. She screamed from the violation, and then realized what she was going to do. Electricity leaped from the palm of the daemon\'s hand to her chest, and she was extracting a ruby red crystal from her heart. Her screams were louder, strong enough to shatter the other crystals, but there was nothing she could do. She stared in horror as the stone was slowly entering the daemon\'s hand, and started to black out.

Raven woke up with a scream, her blanket flying from her body. Sitting up, she sat still, panting as if she was holding her breath for a long time. She wiped the sweat from her face, slowly calming down as she realized it was only a dream. At least, she thought it was only a dream.

Usagi and Mamoru ran into her bedroom. \"What was that?\" he asked. \"Something here?\"

She held up a hand to them. \"No, just a nightmare. That\'s all.\" I hope, she thought to herself.

The little girl sat next to her, looking deeply at Raven\'s face. \"More than that. See in here,\" she said as she traced the dark circles under her eyes and the deeper lines around her mouth. \"Something bothering you.\"

\"I think you know me a little too well,\" she said with a faint smile. \"It seemed a little too real to me to be just a dream.\" She went on to explain the vision she had, watching the reaction on her friends\' faces. When she ended the story, she paused for a moment. \"I think I know what that crystal was, that one that was being pulled out of me. I\'ve never used it before.\"

\"Could it be like Serenity\'s silver crystal?\" Mamoru guessed.

\"I think so. I can\'t be sure.\" Raven laid her head in her hands. \"I\'m glad the time is coming soon. I don\'t think I can take any more of this torture. I\'m second guessing what that \"thing\" is doing, now I\'m getting these dreams that leave me wondering if I imagined it or not. I\'m getting tired of these games she\'s playing. It\'s getting to the point where I don\'t care, I\'m going in there and finish this whole thing.\"

\"You can\'t rush this, you said so yourself,\" he said as he sat down next to her, opposite Usagi. \"We\'re getting close to striking time, and we\'ll free everyone.\"

\"But it\'s destroying me in the process. I haven\'t eaten well, sleep is nearly impossible, and my patience is wearing thin.\"

They agreed to that. The last week and a half has been nothing but a session of keeping tempers in check. Usagi was worrying about her past-life mother, Mamoru was worrying about Motoki and how he was faring with his regained memory, and Raven worried about all of them plus the fact that a part of Metallia still survived. They all wanted it finished and free their loved ones, but not until the moon was full in the sky. Raven was going to check tonight if the time was right, because it should be soon. If not this night, then tomorrow.

But until then, the dreams would continue. She decided she wasn\'t going to try sleeping anymore that night. Pardoning herself, she slipped out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Turning on a light, she saw what Usagi was concerned over. She was looking older than the last time. It took her a while to recognize herself in the mirror. The whole business was taking a toll on her, mentally and physically. She had a feeling that Dwersis was the one responsible for these visions, trying to tempt her into coming into her realm before the right time. But the time was at hand, why would she still be taunting her?

She nevelt elt such hatred and bloodlust as she did at this time. Raven tried to shake the awful vision of the daemon, but she was burned into her memory. She rubbed her eyes and tried to see the present, and ended up seeing Dwersis standing over her shoulder. With a growl, she swung an arm behind her and hit nothing. The vision laughed at her through the mirror. Screaming, Raven swung a fist at the image, shattering the glass and ripping her knuckles. The pain woke her up, and she started to cry. Her friends came over to see what happened this time. All she did was turn to them and weeped harder.

Usagi grabbed her hand and shoved it under the faucet and turned the water on. \"Why this?\" she asked, hoping for a logical answer.

\"Dwersis...in my mirror...laughing at me....\" was her broken answer.

Mamoru leaned against the door frame. \"You can\'t let her get to you like this. The battle will be soon. We need you to be with us, with all your mental abilities in tact.\"

The blonde turned to him, and spoke in her native language. \"Mamo-chan, maybe this isn\'t all her fault. If Dwersis is anything like Metallia was like, then she could control her with any thought she wants her to think. Go easy on her.\" He nodded as Usagi went to bandage her friend\'s hand.

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

Later that day...

Raven stood poised with an unsharpened sword in her bandaged hand. She clicked the music on, and started to dance with her weapon in time with the beat. Twirling the blade into one hand then the other, the sunlight caught on the silver metal and threw the light into new corners of the room. Tossing the sword into the air, she executed a flip forward and caught the weapon as it landed into her hand.

Usagi watched from a distance, marveling at the coordination this woman possessed. She never saw anyone move with a weapon like Raven did, not even Tuxedo Kamen. This must be a side of Celestia that she didn\'t see before. Spinning and leaping, executing feats that looked close to impossible but she knew what she was doing. She could flip with one hand or no hands at all. She could judge where her sword was going to land and how far to project herself in order to catch it. The girl wondered if she could ever be that good. Then decided to ignore that thought. Battle wasn\'t her life, where it\'s been a part of Celestia\'s life for centuries.

During one of her flips, Raven changed into her true form, red hair flying like a comet\'s tail from her head. She landed gracefully, and the former training sword turned into her legendary flame-bladed weapon. Executing her deadly but beautiful dance, she moved to the targets standing to one side of the room. Perfectly, with each spin she sliced the sandbags on the lines marked on them. The sand landed on the wooden floor, giving her steps a crunching and grinding sound, like the sound she was going to make when she\'ll step over the dead body of her enemy.

Celestia\'s death dance stopped once the music ended. She twirled the sword in her hands a couple of times more to loosen her fingers, then tucked it away into an invisible sheath on her back, making it disappear. \"Can\'t practice without music. I need the beat in order to time myself,\" she explained to the awe struck teen.

\"What do you do when no music?\" she asked.

\"I carry the tune in my head. Sort of like when you hear the battle music in a movie, I do the same thing.\" She shook out her red hair, which some got matted to her neck from sweating. \"The time is closer than we first believed. We will strike tonight.\"

Goosebumps came up on Usagi\'s arms. \"Tonight? This night?\"

\"Yes...is there a problem with that?\" Usagi couldn\'t find the words to register her surprise properly. \"You were the one ready to leap in a couple of days ago. Now you\'re going to back out on me?\"

\"No!\" she screamed. \"I\'m not good like you. Call me crybaby, clumsy. I\'m no warrior.\"

Celestia went down on one knee to come face to face with her. \"I don\'t need you to be the Ultimate Senshi there. I need you to be there with me. I need your help to get rid of this thing. We both have to do this.\" Tears were welling up in her blue eyes. \"We have a few more hours. You go and spend some time with Mamoru, and I\'m going out to practice and just spend some time alone. To clear my mind. Okay?\" She nodded.

As Celestia walked away and started to change back to Raven, Usagi spoke up. \"What about mess?\" as she pointed to the sand on the floor.

She shrugged. \"Eh, we\'ll be back and it\'ll still be there. Let it sit for now.\"

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

After her practice, she reverted back into Raven and took a walk outside. She told her friends that she would be back for them at 11:00 that night, and not one minute later. She went wandering into the local park to clear her mind. But the normal hike did nothing.

Too many complications came into the equation in her head. As Celestia, she vowed to protect too many people. Her long time devotion to her \"Sister\", which lasted for centuries, even after her departure from this existence. Then to her daughter, whom she would find once their lives coincided with each other, and is now taking her into the depths of hell. Then to her lover of a distant and almost forgotten past. Her colleague, who is the lover of the princess. There were too many people in the way, and she had no choice but to take them into the black heart of Dwersis.

Any one of them could be killed, or completely destroyed, as could be in the case of Serenity. If she still had the host body that she had back in the Silver Millennium, then she\'d have the chance of fleeing it and taking another form. But without it, there was a good chance that she would die...and there would be no return from oblivion.

She wasn\'t scared of dying herself. Raven knew for a fact that she would have a small break in the heavens, then reincarnate for the umpteenth time in her existence. She had no desire of starting all over again, not this soon. And especially now that she found her Sister\'s daughter.

She was more concerned with the others. Mamoru, Usagi, Motoki...they didn\'t ask for this battle. It came out of nowhere, and became more and more like a \"hate triangle\". Dwersis being pissed because the survivor of the Silver Millennium still lived and not her \"Mother\". Herself, Celestia, dedicating her life now to protecting that single survivor, and loathing anything that was a part of Metallia. And little Serenity getting caught up in this because of her Mother being in chains in Dwersis\' lair. Nasty, complicated web of hatred. But that\'s what Children of Chaos fed upon.

Raven snickered to herself. The Balance. Yin and Yang. Almost what was drawn on her forehead so many years back. How was one to know what was bliss when they never felt fear or hatred. It wasn\'t fair, especially to one born of The Light. But she did catch some glimpses of that chaotic nature in her, especially when the bloodlust took over. Such irony in the little things.

She turned a corner and found she was near one of her favorite watering holes. \"The Spin\" used to be a local disco, now renovated into a comedy club and bar. The bar half was now open. She decided to take a small detour in there, since it may be her last time to ever do so.

As usual, it was dark and silent. The owner was manning the bar, and recognized her as soon as she stepped through the door. \"Hey Raven! Little early for you to get yourself bombed, isn\'t it?\"

\"Hilarious, Bill. No, I don\'t want any booze. Get me a cola, need a clear mind tonight,\" she ordered as she took her favorite stool.

\"Clear mind? Must got yourself a real date tonight. So, who\'s the lucky stiff?\" he teased as he placed the bottle in front of her.

\"No, but I\'ve got a busy night, little man.\" She made a quite toast before she started to down the pop.

He shook his head at the old joke. \"I\'m surprise you\'ve got your head outdoors, the way the police are trying to hunt you down.\"

\"But Bill, they can\'t catch me. I\'m an actress, a woman with a million faces. They can\'t find me.\" And inwardly she winced, because that statement was too true. Especially when that stunt she pulled in front of the mall guards ran through her head. Becoming the legendary Isis for the Egyptians. Becoming the legendary Amaterasu to the Japanese. Too many names, too many faces for one person...even if she is a goddess.

\"Even so, I would keep a low profile at this point. Too risky.\"

\"Then you believe that I didn\'t do it, or was an accomplice to this whole mess.\" She took another swig of pop, reveling in the sugar and caffeine.

\"Nah. That\'s not you.\" He ran a hand through his thinning hair. \"You\'re not one to get involved in that type of lowlife. Your dates...well, that\'s another story....\" And smirked at his joke. Being serious was never his strong point.

\"Thanks a bunch,\" and let out a soft burp in his direction, which made them both laugh. This is what she needed before the battle. A good laugh.

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

Usagi paced around in the kitchen, biting a fingernail on one hand while she held a can of pop in the other. She knew she shouldn\'t have any of that drink, it could make her more jumpy than she was now. Lost in her thoughts, she didn\'t hear the elevator moving until it clanged to a stop.

Nearly jumping out of her socks, she dashed for the elevator gate, ready to whip out her broach and transform. The gate lifted, and she held out her tool like a gun, ready with the words on her lips.

Mamoru looked as her with a grin. \"Don\'t shoot, I\'m friendly!\" he yelled in mock horror with his hands above his head. Usagi blinked a couple of times, then dropped her arms to her sides.

\"I\'m glad it\'s you,\" she said with a sigh. \"With no one here, I\'ve been so scared. I\'m not ready.\"

\"I don\'t think any of us are.\" He shut the gate and walked in after taking his shoes off. Habits are hard to break, he thought to himself. \"But I think if we can talk, maybe the time will pass quicker.\"

She shook her head. \"Too scared to talk now. I can\'t think of anything. I\'m afraid for everyone. I\'m not that concerned over myself, but I don\'t want to lose you for the fourth time. Not after all we built and worked for. And I\'m afraid for Raven. She is a battle senshi, but I don\'t want her to sacrifice herself for me.\"

He sat down on the sofa, patting the seat to signal her to join him. She walked over and flopped down next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder. \"We can\'t think about what will happen. Either we survive or we won\'t. The more pressing issue is whether we stop this deamon or not. I remember well the final battle of Beryl and Metallia.\"

Usagi apparently remembered too, because she shivered in his arms. Having all her friends die before her eyes because they sacrificed themselves for her safety. Even he did when his memory returned, having him die in her arms, feeling him leave his body behind. Then facing the combined body and soul of Beryl and Metallia. So twisted was she that you couldn\'t tell where one started and the other ended. Calling on the spirits of the dead senshi to kill Metallia/Beryl forever, and then her death. The feeling of her slipping out of her body and floating above the crystal platform. Then being violently yanked back when her mortal body fell from the shattering evil, and remembering nothing more.

\"If we weren\'t successful back then,\" he continued, \"the world would already be dead now. Dwersis seems to be just as powerful. She has to be destroyed like before.\"

\"But that required all of us to die. I don\'t want to experience that again.\"

He smiled, but there was no mirth behind it. \"Some of us don\'t have a choice in that matter, like you do.\" She was about to protest, but then she remembered. He may be Tuxedo Kamen, but that\'s about as far as his powers went. She was a goddess, but they weren\'t sure what he was. Mamoru did wonder himself, but he resigned himself to being just a mere mortal gifted with some power.

\"I didn\'t mean it that way, Mamo-chan,\" she whispered.

\"I know my love,\" he answered as he kissed the top of her head. He hugged her, starting to feel a little powerless as he admitted his mortality. Nothing scared him more than the though of never seeing his princess again.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, then she pulled away and looked into his eyes. She couldn\'t believe what she was going to suggest at this time. \"Mamo-chan, in case this will be our last time together...I want...I want to....\"

He knew what she tried to suggest, and stopped her with a kiss. He was thinking the same thing. At least this time, they could kiss each other goodbye properly if they should part forever. At least he would have a final memory of the love he had before he would slip away into whatever afterlife awaited him. Just in case...

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

Raven returned home a little earlier than she wanted to. The bar was starting to get crowded, and the last thing she wanted was a reminder of the people she was saving as she put her life on the line for them. She didn\'t mind saving the good and kind, it\'s the dregs of humanity she had a hard time justifying. Those who laughed at her, or tried a myriad of tricks and violence against her and her kind. The only way to blot that out of her mind was to remember she was doing this for her Sister and her daughter.

The elevator stopped rolling and she rolled the gate up. She looked around, but there was no one there. After she closed the car, she checked her watch. It was 25 to eleven. Plenty of time. So where were they?

\"Usagi? Mamoru? Are you here?\" she called out. There was no answer. She checked the kitchen and found Usagi\'s half finished can of pop. It was rather warm now. She cleaned it out and toss the tin into her box of returns. Wandering into the living room, she saw the tatters of her sandbags still lying all over the floor, the television was still off, but nothing else was out of place. She walked over to her bathroom, which was empty. Turning around, she went to her bedroom, and noticed the door was closed.

Funny, she thought, I don\'t close my door. She knocked on the door, then laid an ear next to it. She heard nothing. No one answered her. She opened the door and flicked on a light.

Well, that answered her question.

There they were, asleep in a naked heap, but not after she turned on the overhead lamp. \"Oh Goddess,\" she muttered as they woke up and it dawned on them that they were caught. Usagi started to scream as the both of them scrambled for the covers. Raven grabbed the door and slammed it shut. \"Didn\'t see a thing!\" she shouted, fighting the blush on her face. \"Not a thing! Didn\'t happen!\" She dashed for the bathroom and slammed the door, not wanting to face them after all that.

In the bedroom, Usagi was in such a panic that she got twisted in the covers and fell out of bed. Mamoru just sat there for a moment, willing the momentary heartattack to pass. How long were we out anyway, he thought as he looked for a clock. \"Geez, Usako, we were asleep for three hours!\" he nearly screamed as he went through another panic.

She finally untangled herself and went diving for her clothes in the pile they made in their haste. \"So? My naps last longer than that. That was a small snooze.\" She found an article of clothing that was his and tossed it his way. It ended up landing in his face. \"Must be time to go.\" She found all of her clothes, gathered them up, and stood. \"And you\'re still in bed?\"

\"I\'m getting there, Odango, I\'m getting there,\" he teased her as he got up. They rushed in getting their clothes on, but didn\'t rush the parting kiss before they faced Raven again.

All three seemed to have regained their composure when they finally gathered into the living room. Raven led them to the window and pointed up into the night sky. \"The moon is almost full. There\'s just a sliver left to go. There\'s no better time to strike. We\'ll transform once it\'s midnight. Let\'s get ready.\"

\"We\'re already set,\" Mamoru answered, needing no more time to prepare himself.

\"Same, too,\" Usagi said with a nod of her head.

\"Then, let\'s go.\"

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

The trip to the site seemed longer than normal. All the lights were green, seeming like an approval of what they were going to undertake. Usagi furiously chewed at her fingernails while Mamoru sat in uncomfortable silence. Raven had to keep her speed in check, no sense in rushing into our doom. After an eternity, they reached the mall, which was locked up and dark. They stepped out of the car, and went to the side of the building to become their other selves. With their powers, they could get in without breaking windows or setting off alarms.

With a flick of Celestia\'s hand, the lock snapped open and she pushed the door open. They walked silently to the closed restaurant and entered without a word. In the dark, they could see a soft glow coming from behind the bar. The gate was opening with immense power coming from it. \"My god,\" Sailor Moon muttered from behind, her hands clenched together in front of her face. There was fear in the air and all could feel it\'s chill. Only Sailor Moon could remember that air, knowing that it was present in the Dark Kingdom that ruled a year ago. Never again did she want to face that presence again, and yet was forced to.

\"It\'s not time yet,\" Celestia whispered, as if she was entranced by the evil. \"Very soon, but not yet.\"

Tuxedo Kamen lowered his mask for a moment to get a clear view of the gate. The light made his eyes hurt but he had to get a glimpse of this evil. He never knew the power contained in it because of being brainwashed by Beryl. Knowing what he was forced to be a part of made him shiver. He put the mask back on.

Celestia held her face up to the only window that wasn\'t boarded up. She could see the full moon brightening with the passing hour. Almost a minute left...a heartbeat away....

Suddenly, a shaft of moonlight shown through and hit the gate. The gate shivered and seemed to open wider. The beam of light lit up a tunnel that lay beyond the initial darkness. \"Now is the time,\" the fiery senshi whispered. She ran for the gate and leaped in head first, as if going down a slide. Sailor Moon had to be coaxed into following by her consort, but she stepped in and immediately fell. Waiting a few seconds, he got to the edge and slid himself in.

After they disappeared into the dimensional gate, the moonlight faded, and the gate closed.

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

Sailor Moon, screaming all the way down, landed in a heap in the darkness. After coughing her initial fear away, she realized that they must be miles below the ground. She heard more sliding and backed away. Tuxedo Kamen slid faster than she did, and he sped past her, finally landing in a pool of mud.

He sat there for a moment, shaking the mud and slime from his arms and hands. \"This job is not designed for this kind of dress,\" he complained.

\"You\'re telling me,\" she echoed. \"I think I scraped my seat on that landing.\"

\"Serenity! You\'re a goddess, start acting like one,\" a slightly annoyed voice came out of nowhere. With a flare of red light, Celestia stood in the dark with a sconce she lit with her powers. \"If you get cut, you can heal that yourself. Endymion, you can do that yourself. If you\'re to muddy to fight, wish the mud away. Learn your gifts!\"

They stared at her like she was crazy. But to the little blonde, it almost brought on a memory. Of Rei...no, Mars, scolding her because she couldn\'t move a book with just her mental powers. That disorientated her, because her Mother never brought back all her childhood memories of the Silver Millennium. How would she know about them when she ruled many systems away?

\"Come, we don\'t have much time here.\" Celestia led the way, with the other two following.

The only tunnel in the first cave seemed to twist and turn at every chance it had. Footing was difficult with the mud running downward. Many times they fell in the descending spiral, but they got up more determined each time and continued on. This was similar to the nightmare Celestia, or rather, Raven had, but there were subtle differences here and there. Taking that as a good sign, she led them on.

Eventually, she did hear the mud turn to water, leading into a large pool in a cave at the end of the tunnel. There was already existing light in this room, with the large crystals jutting from the walls. The water must be mineralized, Celestia thought to herself. Nothing I know of can live in that. She heard Sailor Moon\'s gasp of wonder, just like her dream. But now she knew that warning her was useless. She knew the Princess has better sense to know that they got into danger since the shooting at the mall.

And she was right. Sailor Moon didn\'t stray away like she did in the dream. She stood close to Tuxedo Kamen, like a second appendage. With the fear she could read in her eyes, she wasn\'t going to try anything. Even her consort was glued to his spot.

It was too quite for her comfort. Something should have hit us by now, she thought. Not that she wished it, but there was no where else to go. Surveying a little farther down the lakeshore, she heard the splashing of a waterfall. As she approached it, she could see another cavern big enough for them to walk through. Maybe this was the next path.

She went back to tell the others, and that\'s when she heard the growl of some type of monster. Celestia hurried to join the others, fearing they were already in trouble. They were looking around, wondering where the noise was coming from, but nothing striked. \"I found the next path, maybe we can avoid whatever this is and get onward,\" she offered. The blonde nodded her head, and started to follow her down the lakeshore.

As they reached the wall, a splash was heard back where they first entered. \"Don\'t look back! Go up!\" Celestia ordered to the two as they looked back. She made sure the two were well on their way before she started to climb. The crystals they used as ledges cut into their hands, but were sturdy enough to support them. The roars got louder as it approached. The redhead dared to stop climbing and turned around, and her eyes opened wide in fright.

A dragon, more likely a sea serpent, made out of crystal was rushing after them. The eyes were made out of onyx, and gleamed with an inner fire. The teeth were very visible in it\'s open mouth, made out of shards of the same crystals as the body, only sharpened into thick needles. One good bite and it\'s over, she realized in horror. \"Keep going!\" she shouted to them.

The pair looked down at her, then behind them and saw the beast swimming their way. Sailor Moon screamed and tried to scramble up the wall, not looking where she was putting her feet. Tuxedo Mask let out a yelp of his own, but kept a level head as he tried to speed up his ascent.

Somehow, she was able to get to the ledge and climb over to safety, even with her haste. She looked down and could see that they climbed at least a mile into the air. Fighting of a wave of vertigo, she reached a hand down for Tuxedo Kamen to grab onto. \"Hurry!\" she screamed over the rushing water and growls. He was a few inches away, and was reaching up for her hand, till he slipped and tumbled backwards into the darkness. She screamed in terror, yelling his name as he faded from her sight.

Luckily, Celestia could hear them quite well, and knew that he was about to crash into her. Willing her power, she threw herself off the crystal wall and hovered in the air. Looking back, she could see the crystal dragon was ready to snap her up. She flew upwards with her arms extended. As soon as she could see him falling towards her, she held her position and waited for him.

He couldn\'t see where he was going, his mask flying off somewhere into the dark. He didn\'t know what was worse, falling into the mouth of a dragon, or being impaled on the shards below. Maybe the shards he should wish for, it would be a quick death...he hoped.

But his fall wasn\'t stopped by any of this. He heard the grunt of his friend, and felt a jarring like an elevator dropping a hair. Celestia shook the cape off her head and sped away for the upper ledge with Tuxedo Kamen in her arms. \"Under different circumstances,\" she joked even with her out of breath, \"this could be a fun position.\" And for once, he laughed.

Sailor Moon waited up above, waiting with hope that he was saved, but there was still tears falling from her eyes. If he died, she would sacrifice herself again, like she did a year ago. There was nothing to live for if she couldn\'t have him. But then she heard the approach of laughing...his laughing....

Celestia appeared out of the darkness like a flaming comet, with her love in her arms. She laughed in relief as the red and gold streak flew overhead and landed a few feet from her. She put him onto the ground and then collapsed onto all fours, panting furiously. Sailor Moon ran to them, forgetting the dragon below, and threw her arms around him. Celestia recovered after a few minutes and sat down on the ground.

\"If you could fly,\" Sailor Moon asked, \"why didn\'t you do that before?\"

\"Can\'t always do that. Only in extreme emergencies. It taxes my strength, and I need it for this mission.\" After a minute, she stood up and brushed the dirt from her hands. \"Shall we go on?\"

They got up and walked on with Celestia, their light now gone. It had to be left behind with the climb. They held hands and walked onward into the darkness. The rushing river seemed to quite down as they walked on, fading into nothing, like it never existed. The air got colder, blowing in from an unseen source. They walked on, until they reached a dead end. The wind was still blowing, but it was coming out of nowhere. There was no cave, no tunnel, nothing.

Sailor Moon cried. \"We couldn\'t have come all this way for nothing!\"

\"Hush!\" Celestia warned. \"There has to be a way in. There was no where else to go.\"

\"Oh, yes there is,\" came a too familiar voice. They looked everywhere for the source, and saw no one. \"There is always oblivion, like where you sent my beloved Mother. And you\'ll be joining her soon...very soon.\"

Glowing eyes appeared out of nowhere, staring at them with mischief. \"Welcome to your personal hell,\" Dwersis hissed as light came out of the fine cracks in the walls. They became blinded by the radiance, and when their eyesight came back, the cave turned into a room.

It was a twisted parody of the Great Hall back in the Silver Millennium. Instead of stained glass windows depicting the senshi of the solar system, there were hideous women with bat-like wings and their lower halves the shape of vultures. Celestia recognized them as harpies. Off to the center of the room was a black staircase that led to a throne made out of onyx. The onyx was polished, but was made into the shape of black flames. And on this throne was seated the Daughter of Darkness, Dwersis.

She sat there, with her legs crossed and her chin leaning on a fist. She stared at them with contempt. \"And here I was hoping to feed my pet. She hasn\'t eaten fresh senshi in ages.\"

\"You should take better care of your pets, then.\" Celestia took on the same haughty air at her nemesis. \"Course, I never fancied myself as dragon fodder.\"

\"Too bad, you could\'ve done a terrific job. Though, with your fire powers, I\'m sure you would\'ve given my baby heartburn.\"

\"That wouldn\'t be all that I would burn.\" Out of a whim, Celestia whirled an arm and cast a small fireball at Dwersis, deliberately making it hit the back of her throne, making it scorch her hair a little.

The daemon clucked her forked tongue at her. \"Such a temper. Could be the undoing of you. Let\'s see, how can I set off that temper of yours.\" Faking a thoughtful moment, she then stood up and cast her arms apart. \"Maybe this will add fuel to the fire.\"

Two mirrors hovered to either side of her. In them, the forms of Serenity and Motoki appeared, and make the heroes gasp in fright.

\"Mother!\" Sailor Moon cried out.

Celestia whispered her beloved\'s former name. \"Tsukiyomi....\"

Seemingly, as she said his true name, Motoki\'s street clothes changed into armor, very similar to Endymion\'s. A crown appeared on his head, bearing a crescent moon turned upwards. Sailor Moon saw this change and gasped. The symbols that Motoki...no, Tsukiyomi...wore were that of her own and her Mother\'s. It explained a lot of the attraction she once felt for him. They were kin, in a sense.

\"I see you\'ve found your love ones in the reflections.\" Dwersis snickered. \"Those mirrors could reflect the fears of what I could do to them too. Care for that view?\"

Celestia wouldn\'t let her anger show, though it was fueling the fires in her blood. \"Why? It\'s not going to happen,\" she said calmly. \"We\'ll kill you, free our loved ones, and leave.\"

The daemon seemed to grow larger on her anger. \"You shall not leave except by the death route! There is no excape for you! Death and oblivion only wait for you!\" Casting her arms over her head, dark energy lit up the room. \"My servants of darkness! Appear out of your darkened sleep and destroy the Children of Light!\"

Cackling was heard echoing through the halls. They looked up, and saw the stained glass taking a life of its own. The four windows turned into the harpies, leaping off their sills and grabbing weapons that appeared out of thin air. Celestia called for her sword, Sailor Moon brought out her Moon Rod, and Tuxedo Kamen readied roses in one hand, the cane in the other.

The Battle Has Begun!!

To be continued....