Title: A New Queen Type: battle Rating: PG Authors: Artemis Luna Diana & Tuxedo Mask Sr. E-mail: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com shawnm8@hotmail.com Home Pages: ALD: http://geocities.yahoo.com/Tokyo/Villa/3319 ********************************************************************************************* This is a battle story, no love elements in it, well, except for the love between friends. It is a short story, only this part, but we hope you like it! Enjoy! Oh yeah, we don't own Sailor Moon, yada yada yada... ********************************************************************************************* Serena ran to the temple as fast as her legs could carry her. 'Rei is going to kill me!' She glanced at her watch as she ran. 'Two hours late! I could KILL Mrs. Haruna!' she thought as fresh anger surfaced. Mrs. Haruna had given Serena detention again, but it wasn't because Serena was late, she had actually been early thanks to Ami. It was because Mrs. Haruna hated her and found enjoyment in making her miserable. Serena let an expletive escape. "That thing they call a teacher, is no teacher at all! She's a monster! One of these days I'm going do my best to get her fired! At least then I will have some peace!" she cried out as she tried to run faster. Serena reached the Cherry Hill Temple and opened the door. She was completely unprepared for what happened next.... {30 minutes earlier} "Rei, calm down!" "No! I will not calm down!" "Someone grab her!" "Let go of me, Lita!" "Mina, grab her legs!" "Ami, don't just stand there! Help us!" "Rei, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for Serena's absence." "Shut-up, Luna! GET OFF OF ME!" Rei's anger made her stronger than normal and she threw off the three girls holding her down. She stood up and looked down at the three sprawled on the floor. "Why do you keep defending her?!" she practically screamed. "She is irresponsible and a spoiled brat!" "Rei, she's are friend and we have to accept the bad with the good," Mina tried to explain. "I can't take it anymore!" Rei felt like crying, she was so frustrated. She stormed out of the room. "There has to be something more than Serena being late that is causing this," Ami said logically. "Serena hasn't acted any different," Luna stated. "But Rei has," Lita explained. She had been losing her temper more often than normal, and she spent most of her time alone and none of it with Serena. "What could be going on between them?" Mina wondered. {15 minutes later} Rei came back into the room and sat down. She said nothing but pulled out her henshin stick. They sat in silence until they heard running footsteps coming towards the closed door. Lita, Mina, Ami, and Luna looked apprehensively at Rei and stood. Serena burst through the door. "Sorry I'm la-" "Serena," Rei cut her off, "it is time you understood something!" Serena looked at her blankly. Rei clutched her henshin stick tighter. She seemed to hesitate, before becoming firm in her resolve. "Mars Crystal Power, Make-up!" Sailor Mars looked at Serena coldly. "Your lesson begins outside when we battle...to the death." Her voice had a note of finality to it and the words she spoke made everyone else shiver. Rei shoved Serena outside. "Transform or I will slaughter you where you stand." "Rei, I knew you would lose it one day. Little did I know it would be so soon. To protect everyone from your insanity, I will fight you...and win. Today is the day my true self shall be revealed. No longer the ditz, the Queen of Crystal Tokyo is born!" Serena shouted. "Moon Eternal, Make-up!" Eternal Sailor Moon glared at Sailor Mars, her wings rustled in the slight breeze. The thought of fighting Sailor Mars brought a flurry of emotions to the surface. Pain: she'd be loosing her friend. Pleasure: she'd be able to pay her back for every insult. Confusion: what had caused Rei to go bonkers???? "I won't kill you Sailor Mars, but you can bet your ass I'll make it sting," Sailor Moon hissed. "Try me." Her eyes burned twin flames. "Look in my eyes, Sailor Moon, your death lies there! MARS FLAME SNIPER!" The flame arrow shot towards Sailor Moon who quickly spun to the right. She wasn't fast enough and the arrow singed her skirt. "STARLIGHT HONEYMOON THERAPY KISS!" Mars dropped to the ground, and the attack passed harmlessly over her. {from the sidelines} "We've got to stop them!" Lita screamed at Mina, Ami, and Luna. "NO!" a familiar voice shouted. Two bubbles formed outside the temple. One covered the combatants; the other covered the bystanders. "What's going on?!" Mina shouted and pounded on the bubble covering them. "Artemis?" Luna breathed. "What?!" Ami exclaimed. The girls turned to see Artemis standing outside the two bubbles. His crescent moon blazing. The bubbles were his making. He was the one who didn't want them to interfere. "Artemis, what are you doing?!" Lita cried. "Only what I have to." He turned away from Mina's sad eyes and Luna's shocked ones. "You'll understand when it's over." They watched helplessly as Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon continued their fight. Only Mina saw the tears in Artemis's eyes. Whatever he knew, hurt him deeply. "Artemis, stop this!" Luna begged. "I can't!" he yelled at her. He turned his eyes back to the fight. {the battle rages on} "Burning Mandala!" "Moon Tiara Action!" "Mars Flame Sniper!" "Moon Princess Halation!" Both senshi were battered and bruised. "You're worthless Sailor Moon! Do you here me?! Worthless!" "You have lost every value you hold dear, Rei. I pity you." "You...YOU...PITY ME?! How dare you pity me!" Sailor Mars's anger exploded, boosting her power level. "Mars Fire Blast!" Her new attack rushed to Sailor Moon and enveloped her in flames. Serena screamed in pain. No one noticed the tear that fell from Rei's eye. The flames died and Serena was sprawled on the ground, burned badly. The Silver Crystal began to glow. Serena's body was slowly lifted off the ground by the light of the Silver Crystal. Her body became encased in the light. It flared brightly, blinding all watching. When the light died away, Eternal Sailor Moon was no more. In her place stood Neo Queen Serenity. {on the sidelines} Mina, Ami, and Lita all fell to their knees. Their Queen was born. "What does this mean?" Mina asked, "Has our time of sleep arrived?" "Maybe something has changed. After all Rei should not have even begun this fight. It is impossible for her to win," Ami remarked. "She knows that," Artemis said softly, "That is what made it so hard to ask." "Ask what?" Luna demanded. Artemis shook his head. His eyes watching the scene's end unfolding. Neo Queen Serenity lifted the Silver Crystal high above her, gathering power to end the fight once and for all. "Artemis," a voice said. "Yes, Sailor Pluto?" "Do not feel sad." "Rei is going to die!" he yelled as he turned to face her. Setsuna smiled at him. She shook her head, "No, she isn't." "Why didn't you tell me?!" he demanded. "Rei has to believe that she will die." "Why?" "All will be revealed soon." Setsuna smiled again, "Shouldn't you let them out?" Artemis looked at the shocked senshi still in the bubble. He looked down at the ground sheepishly, "Sorry about that, guys," he said and released the bubble surrounding them. Setsuna, Ami, Mina, Lita, Luna, and Artemis stood waiting for the end of the battle in silence. {the end of the battle} Neo Queen Serenity held the Silver Crystal as hot, white light poured from it. The light spilled onto the ground like a liquid. It slowly approached Rei. Rei shut her eyes and silently asked Serena for forgiveness. 'Princess Serenity, to give you the strengh to transform into Neo Queen Serenity, I give you my life. Please...forgive me.' Rei opened her eyes as the liquid light reached her and began to climb up her body, burning her skin with its intensity, yet she refused to cry out. Her sad eyes looked up at her Queen with an all consuming love. The light reached her face, covering her eyes, blocking the sight of her Queen. 'Good-bye...my friend...good-bye.' The light began falling away from Rei's body and she crumbled to the ground. The light charged to the group of watching senshi. The light leaped up and captured Mina, Lita, and Ami. When it left, all three fell to the ground. Artemis and Luna stood in shock, 'Was Setsuna wrong? Were the senshi...dead?' Neo Queen Serenity floated gently down to the ground. The click of her shoes woke the four girls. Ami was the first to stand. She was no longer in her school clothes, instead she wore a floor-length, sky blue dress with three-quarter length sleeves. She placed a hand on her forehead and found a tiara made of sterling silver with a single saphire in the center. Lita was the second to rise. She wore an almost identical outfit as Ami except the dress was light green and an emerald rested in the center of her tiara. Mina rose next. A dress of light orange graced her slim figure and a glimmering diamond was embedded in her tiara. Rei was the last to stand. Her dark maroon dress was the same as everyone else's as well as the ruby resting on her forehead, but something had changed. Her once completely black hair now had one long streak of silver on the right side of her head. Her dark eyes were no more, instead silver streaked in amongst the black. "Welcome back Princess Ami of Mercury," Neo Queen Serenity said and enveloped Princess Ami in a loving hug. "Hello again Princess Mina of Venus," she spoke softly giving Mina the same loving embrace. "Princess Lita of Jupiter, you have returned," she said with a laugh, remembering fondly an 'inside-joke' between them. Her hug was fierce, a sign of her love for Lita. Neo Queen Serenity walked to the silent Rei. She reached out and picked up the silver lock of Rei's hair, "It is a symbol." "A symbol?" Rei looked down in shame. "Of your sacrifice to me," she gestured towards Rei's eyes allowing Rei to know they had changed too, "and your love for me. I know why you had to do it." Rei looked up in surprise. "Rei, I can sense the evil approaching. To speed up my change, you were willing to sacrifice yourself. These changes in you show my favor, not my hatred." Tears fell from Rei's eyes as she listened to her friend and Queen speak. "I love you, Rei. As much as I love Mina, Lita, Ami, Haruka, and everyone else." She clasped Rei to her tightly, "No matter how hard you might try, you will never lose it." Rei laughed as the tears continued to fall. "Welcome back Princess Rei of Mars...welcome back." Hugs flowed through the friends, everyone was grabbing someone. Easy affection replaced the fear that Rei's unexplainable behavior had caused. Neo Queen Serenity finally broke apart from them. "It is time," Setsuna said matter-of-factly. "Silver Crystal shine far!" Neo Queen Serenity shouted and held the crystal high above her. Light once more poured from the crystal, falling like water to the ground. Soon the whole world was covered in the light of the Silver Crystal. The light flared brightly then returned to the crystal in a deafening crash. Ami, Lita, Mina and Rei looked upon the world in shock. Crystal Tokyo was born. Artemis, Luna, and Setsuna smiled at the beautiful city. The future had arrived. *********************************************************************************************** So...what did you think? E-mail us! We want to know! ~Artemis Luna Diana~ & ~Tuxedo Mask Sr.~