[ ] Act 42 - Dream 9: Earth and Moon Dream Originally appeared in Nakayoshi, March 1996. Translated by Alex Glover. Version 1.02, 2.97. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usagi stands in her new suit, the tiara gone. A crescent moon is joined to the heart shape on her chest, fastened to a bow shaped like a pair of wings. She thrusts her arm out, and a glowing scepter appears in her hand. "Our protectors, light of the planets!" she shouts. "Sailor Crystal Power of the solar system! Gather that power in this Eternal Tear! Silver Moon Crystal Power!" The Mystical Silver Crystal appears before her, spreading open like a flower and revealing a crescent moon of light. The other nine soldiers in dresses watch. "Sailor Moon's silver crystal transformed!?" thinks Chibi-Usa. "Venus Crystal Power!" "Jupiter Crystal Power!" "Mars Crystal Power!" "Mercury Crystal Power!" "Uranus Crystal Power!" "Neptune Crystal Power!" "Pluto Crystal Power!" "Saturn Crystal Power!" "Me too!" says Chibi-Usa. "My silver crystal power to Sailor Moon! Moon Crystal Power!" "If truly," thinks Mamoru, "the Golden Crystal is inside of me..." He holds his arms to his chest, and another glowing crystal appears. "Give its power to Eternal Sailor Moon!" "Prince!?" the human cats call. All their power flows to Usagi, a ball of light encircling her. "All our power! Here, now!" Mamoru sends the power of his crystal. Usagi points her scepter out. "Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!!!" Light blasts at Nehalennia. She screams as she shrinks from her giant size. Her body mutates, shedding its form as a woman and changing to a small, wrinkled body. "Ohhh..." she says. "I... I will always be the beautiful Queen Nehalennia." She stretches her hand toward Mamoru as she is sucked down. "Prince," she says. "Prince of Earth, protected by the sun. I shall take your hand... As the true queen of the moon... As the ruler of the matchless power of this planet of the solar system..." Nehalennia's spirit is sucked into the large mirror, and she is sealed inside. The cage holding the Pegasus vanishes. - The giant dark moon over Tokyo disappears. The moon begins to move past the sun. The crystal formed around the city fades away, leaving the streets clean. The people of the city awaken. "Uhh..." "Huh? What have I been doing...?" "I feel like I was sleeping..." They look into the sky at the moon moving out of the path of the sun. "That's..." "An eclipse?" - Michiru watches the occurrences through her mirror. "The surface is returning to normal...!" she says. "The long nightmare of the total solar eclipse... Now, finally, it's passed...!" "The long, long nightmare..." thinks Usagi. "Now it's finally over." - The young Princess cries as she wanders into her mother's room. "What's wrong, Selenity?" asks the Queen. "I can't sleep," she says. "When I close my eyes, a black monster comes after me. Venus and the others told me a scary story. That inside the mirror, there lives a horrible black monster, that eats crybabies. Is it true?" "Selenity. We, everyone, carry a star in our hearts." "A star?" "Light and dark are always accompanied by each other. If you're frightened even a little by the dark, and show it your tears, the dark will become great and come after you, and it will swallow the light. Selenity, to resist the spirit of the darkness, always make the star in your heart shine. That is your most precious mission." - The Pegasus fades away, leaving the body of a man lying alone on the ground. "Elios!?" says Chibi-Usa. She goes to the body. "Elios?" She kneels and leans toward him. "Elios... Wake up... Please, please..." A tear drops from her eye as she bends down and kisses him. "Wake up..." The Mystical Silver Crystal from her brooch open up like a flower, radiating light. Elios opens his eyes, and sees the woman with two pointed balls of hair looking down at him. "Princess Lady Selenity...?" he says. "Why... are you crying? Small maiden." "I'm happy," Chibi-Usa says, holding his hand to her face. "You woke up, I'm so happy, and tears are coming out." "That crystal..." he says. "Your silver crystal has been reborn, Small Lady," says Diana. "All of the sailor soldiers have Sailor Crystals, with the power of their planets hidden inside themselves. That is your Pink Moon Crystal, Sailor Chibi-Moon." "My... Pink Moon Crystal...!" "And that power led Priest Elios to awaken." "The small maiden..." thinks Elios. "She..." "Come on, Elios!" says Chibi-Usa. "For me, the maiden..." "Hurry, hurry!" "Sailor Chibi-Moon... It was you..." He follows Chibi-Usa, running out of the shrine, and he sees the green land of Elysion, alive once more. The lake sparkles in the sunlight, and flowers bloom all around. "Elios!!" says Usagi. "Prince...!" he says. "Thanks to Sailor Moon, the Golden Crystal was freed." Mamoru holds out the glowing crystal to Elios. Elios takes it and fixes it to the top of a regal staff, and hands the staff to Mamoru. Usagi appears in her flowing white gown, Mamoru in his lavender tuxedo. "King!? Queen!?" Usagi holds out her scepter at the large mirror, and Mamoru holds out his staff. They draw the evil from the mirror, and raise it into the sky, where it is destroyed by the light. The Princess's four guardian soldiers and the three outer soldiers appear in their royal gowns. They all stand behind Usagi and Mamoru, who hold their rods. "Just like a coronation ceremony," says the human Artemis. "It is, Artemis," says the human Luna. Hotaru kneels on the ground, and holds out the four stones in her hand. "Saturn," says Usagi. "These..." "Please," Hotaru says. "Use your Silver Moon Crystal Power on them..." Usagi holds out her scepter, and the stones glow. The stones rise into the air, and the four girls trapped inside are released. "The Amazoness Quartet!?" Tiaras appear on their foreheads, and they are clothed in sailor suits as they descend to the ground. "We carry the protection of the four asteroids of the solar system," they say. "Sailor Ceres." "Sailor Pallas." "Sailor Juno." "Sailor Vesta." The others gasp. "Sailor soldiers!?" "In truth," says Ceres, "we were still in the middle of our sleep, deep in the Amazon. We were forced awake by the curse. In a nightmare, we were made to perform as servants of the Dead Moon. But we have finally been freed from that nightmare. Thanks to all of you. We will enter our sleep again, for our true awakening is still ahead. Sailor Chibi-Moon. From our hearts, we are awaiting the time when, someday, you will stand on your own as a soldier. That time is the time of our true awakening. If you need us, we will give our lives to protect you." "No way..." thinks Chibi-Usa. "These four are my..." "It's all right," says Hotaru. "Until then, we will protect the Princess." The four asteroid soldiers smile as they become points of light, flying into the sky and vanishing. "Sailor Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta...!" Chibi-Usa thinks. "The time may come when I will stand on my own as a sailor soldier. When I see you again may be the time when I can be a real soldier... A real lady..." "Now," says Elios. "You should be returning to the surface. I will take you. With my favorite horse! Pegasus!" A Pegasus appears, and Elios hops onto its back. "Now! Follow after me!" "Elios!" She watches as he rides the Pegasus into the air. "Just like a prince on a white steed..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everyone gathers at Ichinohashi Park. "Please, take care of yourselves," says Elios. "I will continue my prayers for your safety in Elysion. And for you, Prince." "Elios," says Chibi-Usa. "I'll see you again, right?" "Yes, maiden. I will eagerly await the day when I can meet you again. Eagerly." "Elios! We will! I'll go to see you again!" Elios rides his Pegasus back to his homeland. "Someday in the future..." thinks Chibi-Usa. "When I've become a real lady... So Elios can be my prince." Tears well in her eyes. "Well, let's go!" "We'll see Elios again for sure." "Until then, you can hone your skill as a woman, right, Chibi-Usa?" "Right," she thinks, smiling. "So my many dreams will come true, for now, even though I'm chibi, I have to work through it!" "Amazing," says Mamoru. "Even though the battle's over, I feel a warmth in my heart. Just like a star has been born in my heart. So this is the power of the Golden Crystal..." "Mamo-chan," says Usagi. "All of us, everyone, have stars in our hearts." "Stars?" "Yes. And that warmth in your heart is a sign that your star is shining." The others look at her. "So that my dreams can come true, so I can protect the ones I love, so I can fight, please, star in my heart. Shine your light, and give me strength!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright © 1996 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright © 1997 Alex Glover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sailor Moon Translations | Sailor Moon Volume 15