Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Celestial Atlantis ❯ Crystal Tokyo ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
~ Part 9: Crystal Tokyo ~

After that day, the palace seemed empty. Two months had passed unnoticed. A battle here, a monster there. Insignificant. Antares had dealt with the death of a comrade before, and she knew it wasn't permanent. But her attempts to cheer up the Senshi never worked.

"I think," Neo Queen Lady Serenity said to King Helios, "that our dear Zodiac Senshi need a change of pace. To ease the pain."

"Yes, that would be best. Perhaps with your parents in Crystal Tokyo?" Helios replied.

"Yes. And our dear Lima Bean hasn't seen them in a while."

"Aww, ma do I have to?" Lima Bean pouted.

"Yes, you do. Now pack your things and get the Senshi. You're going to Earth."

~oO Oo~

The palace of Crystal Tokyo was almost identical to the one of the Moon Kingdom. Except that instead of having the palace in the font of the city, this one was situated in the heart, towering over buildings. The girls spent the first few days exploring the city. Quite an adventure considering most of the girls hadn't been outside the United States before.

"Waaaaah! I'm illiterate!" Rachel exclaimed as she tried to make sense of the kanji and hiragana script dominating the signs, books and advertisements.

"Woo hoo! A Fushigi Yuugi art book! I can never find this stuff!" Mica exclaimed happily. "Tamahome... Hotohori... Drool."

Lima Bean smiled. Of all the places in Crystal Tokyo, she liked the Anime Plaza the most. But it was getting late. "You guys," Lima Bean called, "we should be getting back now."

"Yeah," everyone agreed. They would come back tomorrow.

"Lima Bean!" A small girl called from down the road.

"Michelle!" Lima Bean ran over to the girl and brought her back to the group. "Everyone, this is my best friend Michelle. Michelle, this is the rest of the Zodiac Senshi."

"What do you mean 'the rest of'?" Rica asked.

"Oh, Antares didn't tell you? Michelle's a Senshi too. She's Sailor Chibi Scorpio."

"Chibi Scorpio?" Zulla asked.

"Yeah, she wanted to be just plain Sailor Scorpio because she's older than Autumn and she was found first, but in a past life, she was the youngest. And besides, she's the smallest. Isn't she cute?" Lima Bean smiled.

Michelle glared at Lima Bean.

"We really should be getting back. It's getting dark," Lucy observed. Everyone started up the street to the palace.

~oO Oo~

By the time the girls got into the palace, they had noticed a dark mist covering the city below.

"Umm... I don't think it's supposed to do that." Michelle commented warily.

"There has been a dark mist covering the city late at night for about a week now. But I've never seen it so thick." Neo Queen Serenity answered.

"... I don't like the looks of it. Maybe we should transform to be on the safe side?"

"Yes, that would be best."

An hour later, the girls stood at the back gates of the palace, watching as the dark mist crept slowly upwards, thickening and billowing in the night sky.

"I don't like the looks of this," Leo said solemnly, acting like a normal human.

"Not to sound corny or anything, but it seems... I sense something evil." Gemini said to everyone.

"Too late," Aries said cheerily.

"Huh?" Gemini asked.

"You said you didn't want to sound corny. I said it's too late." She responded with nervous laughter. Trust Tessa to try and ease the tension.

The mist was nearing the gates now. The girls were silent.

"I see the Zodiac Senshi don't know what to make of this," a feminine, sinister voice boomed. It came from the fog.

"Let me introduce myself. I..."

The fog pulled away from the area and condensed into the shape of a woman. Details began to emerge, leaving the figure as a beautiful woman with raven black hair that cascaded to her knees. Her eyes were golden, sparking with unnatural light. She wore a dark purple dress that pooled at her feet and clung to her arms. Her pale skin, like her eyes, glowed eerily in the night.

"...am Queen Ceres," she finished.

"Y-you're Queen Ceres?" Taurus asked with a stutter. This is the abomination of humanity we have to fight? Libra thought to herself. She looks so... frail.

The woman indeed appeared very weak, but an inner power emanated from within her.

"You wish to save your pitiful planet? I suspect it will last no longer than the others." Sagittarius growled. Queen Ceres smiled and said, "Well if you wish to try and defend this... place, I guess I can do nothing to stop you."