Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailormoon Dark ❯ Episode 24: Poisonous Sister. The Final Galileon. ( Chapter 24 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Sailormoon Dark: Episode Twenty-Four
"Poisonous Sister. The Final Galileon."

written by Laurel Wilson ( Sailorhathor@aol.com )
Inspired by the Japanese animated show Pretty Soldier Sailormoon.
The ideas for this fanfic were conceived in 1995, but this actual episode was written in May/June 2002.



"The fluttering wings of the Dragonfly signal how much power flows through the Dream Eater. You cannot channel the energy otherwise."
"Then I want this Dragonfly."
"We will get it for you, our beautiful, dark queen."
"You are the most powerful being in the universe, Sailordarkcosmos. It will be a pleasure to watch you decimate this stupid, worthless planet."
"A girl could get used to this."
Pretty Soldier Sailormoon Dark Episode 24: Poisonous Sister. The Final Galileon. The moonlight carries the message of love.

        At the sound of the front door closing, Nozomi jumped up off the couch and ran to the foyer. "Mommy! Mommy!" She stopped to scan the group.
        Michiru leaned down to the child's height. "Your mother is being teleported back from the Time Gate by your father. They'll be here soon, in one of the guest rooms, but-"
        Nozomi was too excited to listen to the rest; she ran to the only empty guest room in the house. "Mommy! Daddy!"
        Jun had followed her niece to the foyer; now she noticed the facial expressions of the group that had just returned from the 30th century. "It didn't work?"
        "No," Usagi sadly replied. "Chibiusa is still too injured to leave the Winter Crystal that encases her."
        Jun sighed. "I understand. But Nozomi's going to take this hard."
        Nodding, Usagi headed after the child, hoping to soften the blow.
        Nozomi had rushed into the room to see her father standing next to the block of Winter Crystal that still held her mother. Stunned, her little gold eyes filled with tears. "But... I thought..."
        "Nozomi-cha n, I'm sorry, but I couldn't heal your mother," Usagi said from the doorway. "She needs more time in the Winter Crystal."
        Heartbroken, Nozomi turned from Usagi and ran into her father's arms, where he swept her up and let her cry against his neck. "Daddy... I want her back!"
        "I know honey... I miss her too. We just have to be patient." Elios stroked his daughter's hair.
        "I'm sorry. I tried," Usagi lamented in a sad, crestfallen voice.
        Coming up behind her, Jun soothingly patted her back. "She knows you did all you could."
        The others focused on Nozomi, trying to comfort the child. Amidst all the disappointment, Hotaru sat in a hallway chair with a little smile on her face.
        "What's that little grin about, Hotaru?" Setsuna asked, kneeling next to her chair.
        Hotaru, a bit embarassed, broke into a bigger grin. She hadn't expected to be noticed just quietly sitting there. "It's what I saw in the future... that threw me, seeing myself as Queen Saturn."
        "It did?"
        "Yeah. Setsuna-san, I'm alive in the future. I never expected that. Each time a new enemy crops up, I just assume that... well..."
        Setsuna rubbed the back of her hand affectionately. "I understand." The two smiled at each other.
        "I never thought I would have such hope for the future." Hotaru laughed; it all seemed so ironic. "Not only do I have a daughter, but I'm going to be alive to raise her. I'm going to have the chance for a normal life!"
        Setsuna gave her a hug. "I'm so glad for you, that you have such hope. It's wonderful."
        Hotaru thoughtfully examined Setsuna's face, and made her first comment on the relationship between Setsuna and Professor Tomoe since their future daughter had spilled the beans. "If I am going to have a step-mother sometime in my life, I'd be happy if she were you."
        Touched, Setsuna hugged her again.


      & nbsp; That night, the main dorm of Mirai Mugen was fairly quiet as many of the students slept or studied, except for the ninth floor, where a group of kids held a loud party. Their Floor Monitor currently drank from a homemade beer bong, behavior the fourth floor monitor would have found deplorable. She was the Floor Monitor from Hell. Kazan Tamamushi.
        "So, you don't have any guys in here?" Kazan sarcastically asked as she picked up one of Nathan's shirts from the floor.
        Ursula put on her best diplomatic smile. "No. My boyfriend was here earlier, during the day, and he left his shirt by mistake."
        "And why did he have it off?"
        "Um..." At a loss for words, Ursula shifted from one foot to another. "Well, he spilled something on it."
        "Oh?" Kazan examined the shirt in an overobvious manner. "I don't see any stains."
        Rolling her eyes, Tara got up from her bed and threw what was left of her soda on the shirt. "There. It's stained."
        Ursula held back a chuckle. "Look, we don't have any guys in here, okay? Give us some slack."
        Kazan dropped the shirt. "I'll cut you some slack when you stop acting so suspicious. I find you crawling around on the floor with a guy the other morning, and then I see some blonde guy going in and out of here at all hours-"
        "All hours? How would you know that? Are you watching us?" Tara barked.
        "A good Floor Monitor is aware of everything that happens on her floor."
        "Of course, Big Brother."
        "Can we just go to bed?" Ursula asked with annoyance.
        After a moment of thought, Kazan rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever. You can keep it up as long as you like, but I guarantee..." She looked Ursula in the eye. "...I will catch you." With that, she turned to leave.
        "Oh, Kazan?" Tara began as she headed out the door. The girl turned back to see what she wanted. "Hair streaks are so out of style."
        This unexpected comment obviously shook Kazan up a little. She touched one of the stark white braids that framed her face. "They're not fake." Quickly, Kazan left their room.
        "Did you see her retreat? She didn't like me knocking the streaks," Tara chuckled.
        "I'm not sure you should've said that. It really seemed to make her mad."
        "Chill out Ursula-lala," said Nathan as he crawled out from under his sister's bed. His pet rabbits were in his arms. "She's not gonna do anything. I'll make sure she doesn't see me."
        "She's already seen you several times." Ursula sat on her bed, watching Nathan uncover the rabbits' cage so he could put them away. "I'm telling you, between harboring you and those rabbits, we are going to get kicked out of here."
        "But this is all a part of college life. We're supposed to break rules and take chances." Tara flopped back on her bed. "Let's go to sleep, okay?"
        Making a face, Nathan picked up his shirt. "What'd you do this for?"
        A half hour later, all three had fallen asleep, the girls in their beds and Nathan in his sleeping bag. A figure moved silently down the dim hallway and stood outside their door. She opened her hand; it was full of glittering dust and tiny flowers.
        "By the will of Sailorhypnos, Tara Mason will have a Miraculous Dream." Hypnos softly blew the dust from one of her Capsules off of her palm. The glittery cloud floated slowly down and under the door like a purposeful fog, and drifted toward Tara's sleeping face. In her sleep, she inhaled the glittering grains, coughing a little, and began to have the dream that Sailorhypnos had sent to her. A miraculous memory from her past life.
        "It may hurt, but you need to remember," Hypnos' voice said in Tara's dream. The memory came into focus, more vivid than any dream Tara had ever had.
        She was sitting on her knees under a stone arch that covered a pebble walkway; there was a series of these arches leading toward the castle of Silver Millenium. She wore her Court Jester outfit and carried two funny puppets, which were wooden heads on sticks with a switch to make the mouths move. One looked like Queen Serenity and the other resembled Princess Serenity. Tara found she was crying, feeling hopeless and sad.
        Closer to the castle, people were screaming, and the sound of swords clashing was all around. The rumors about an attack from Earth were true. How could this be happening? Tara's body went from numb to panic and back to numb again as she tried to understand how this could be possible.
        A tall woman with red hair that flowed in the wind stood atop a building, shouting orders. Her triumphant laughter carried to the ears of all who were unlucky enough to be there to hear it. Beryl. That was no surprise. She had been recruiting for her cult for years now, and this was the culmination of all her plans.
        Someone was coming toward her. "Queen Serenity, what are you doing?" Tara asked. "You should be down in the stronghold."
        The Queen carried an ornately decorated wooden box. She leaned down to pat Tara's shoulder. "It's alright, Jester Tara. A queen isn't worth her kingdom if she isn't willing to protect it." She carefully removed the Silver Crystal from the box.
        Tara shook her head hard. "No! I know what will happen to you if you use that crystal! Please don't sacrifice your life to save all of us!"
        Queen Serenity smiled at her gently. "You always were so sweet, Tara. But I will not allow Beryl to slay my daughter and take over my kingdom because of her jealousy. Too many have perished already. It ends here."
        Suddenly there was a huge explosion. The queen shielded Tara from the flying debris, and all around them, people screamed in terror and pain. Beryl's laughter echoed throughout the sky.
        Tara began to cry again. "I don't want you to die."
        Queen Serenity stroked the girl's cheek. "Don't worry about me. Just get down into the stronghold, alright? I'll send my daughter there as soon as I locate her." She tried to smile. "The people in the stronghold are all very scared; I'm sure you could calm them down with one of your funny puppet shows." She hoped to avert Tara's attention from the carnage of the battle, so the girl would do as she said.
        A bleeding castle soldier ran by, frantic with worry. "The entire solar system is under attack! My wife and child are vacationing on Callisto!" Exhausted, he collapsed to his knees next to the queen. "You have to send me there to protect them."
        "Callisto?" The realization of what that meant came to her eyes, and Tara desperately grabbed at Queen Serenity's shoulders. "My satellite system is being attacked! I have to go back and help my team protect our kingdoms!"
        Queen Serenity shook her head. "Don't. Promise me you won't go. Stay here and continue being the sweet, funny child that you are. You and my daughter, you're both so young... it's not your time to die. Go to the stronghold!"
        "But my team, they're waiting for me! My brother must be wondering where I am; I should be fighting by his side!"
        "Tara, promise me, please!"
        The intensity and desperation in the queen's voice went right to the core of Tara's being; this was so important to Serenity. How could she not grant the last wish of a woman who was about to sacrifice herself to save them all? "I promise," Tara sobbed.
        What would Team Galileo think when she didn't show up? What would her brother think?
        Queen Serenity gratefully kissed Tara's cheek. "Take the injured soldier down into the stronghold with you." The queen stood, looked at the Silver Crystal shining within her hand, and turned away. "Thank you for all the laughter you have brought me. Take care of yourself."
        Tara watched Queen Serenity walk off toward Beryl and her army. She felt her body go numb again, although tears streamed down her cheeks. After a few silent moments, Tara got to her feet and helped the soldier up.
        "We should take this box with us. The Silver Crystal was in it." Tara tried to pick it up, but the burden of the injured soldier made it too hard. "Can you get it?"
        The soldier blathered, "I have to go there, to protect them." He seemed detached from what was really happening. Tara wished she could be that detached from reality right now.
        Suddenly they heard the voice of Queen Serenity, shrieking in anguish. "Serenity! SERENITY! NO!"
        Looking through one of the open arches, Tara saw the princess and her boyfriend, Prince Endymion, floating through the air. Oh my God, they were dead! Beryl and the mysterious force, Metallia, had succeeded in killing them both. Tara's mouth fell open. She was barely aware of her own body collapsing to the walkway below her.
        "SERENITYYYYYYYYYY !!"
        There was such anguish and horror in Queen Serenity's voice; it tore through Tara like a knife. It was almost a blessing when a green light extended from Metallia to the ground and sped toward her and the screaming soldier, a green light full of death. It seemed to move in slow motion to Tara. She could hear the queen screaming and the rumble of buildings falling, and saw the stone arches breaking apart above her. Rock covered the beautiful box that had held the Silver Crystal.
        Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, Io, I'm so sorry, Tara thought, and reached for her puppets before they were completely buried. They were just out of reach. I'm so sorry I can't be there to fight alongside you.
        The Jester took one last deep breath before she was covered in an avalanche of stone.
        Disoriented, Tara awakened in her bed back in the dorm with a gasp; her lungs felt as if she really had been buried under thousands of pounds of rock. It took several seconds of panting and clutching at the bed sheets for her to shake off the dream. It had once been real, hadn't it?
        It was a memory from her past life.
        Tara looked at her sleeping brother and reached down to smooth the hair off his face. He snorted and shifted in his sleep. "No wonder you're so mad at Sailorganymede," she whispered. "She left you to fight alone."


         The entire fourth floor was awakened the next morning by the yelling of Kazan the Terrible. Tara and Ursula went to their door to sleepily regard what was going on. Kita stood in the doorway of her room, obviously on the verge of tears; she held Artemis in her arms.
        "And if that cat and dog aren't out of here by tonight, I'll see to it that both of you are kicked out of this dorm!"
        "But... but it's very important that they stay here." There was no way for Kita to explain why; it was senshi stuff.
        Rubbing her eyes, Makoto came to the door. "What's the problem?"
        As Kazan proceeded to yell at her too, Lappie sat quietly near Kita's feet and stared hard at the newcomer. He knew who she was--he only wondered if she did.
        "This cat belonged to a friend of mine who died recently. I'm not letting him out of my sight," Makoto growled.
        "Pets are not allowed in the dorms." She stood eye to eye with Makoto. "Period. Get them out of here by nightfall."
        Kita burst into tears.
        Half asleep, Nathan staggered to the door and leaned on his sister. "Some people are trying to sleep; shut uuuuup."
        Tara frantically pushed him back. "Nathan, Floor Monitor!"
        Nathan blinked at her with half-closed eyes. "Huh? I'm not the Floor Moni..."
        It was too late; Kazan was already marching down the hall. "I knew it! I knew you had a guy in there! He's gotta be out by tonight, and I'm putting you on report."
        "He's my brother. He's just visiting."
        "No boys can sleep over on a girls' floor. Those are the rules." Kazan flounced down the hall and back to her room.
        "Oh crap... sorry," Nathan said, trying to smooth down a massive case of bed hair. "I'm going back to sleep."
        Ursula and Tara walked down the hall to help Makoto comfort Kita. "Don't worry, we'll figure something out. Maybe Usagi can take Artemis; she hasn't been caught."
        Makoto shook her head. "Usagi's already got Luna and Bastet in there. They fight over the litter box as it is."
        Artemis made a face at the thought of another cat pushing him around in, of all places, the litter box. "I'm sure Minako's parents will take care of me. I'll just have to walk up here every day and check on things."
        Sniffling, Kita said, "I don't want the kitty to go away."
        "What about me?" Lappie looked up at them with his best sad puppy dog eyes.
        "Huh?" Kita glanced down. "The dog is near my feet; he's gonna bite my ankles!" She scooted away, not realizing that she was squeezing Artemis in a panic.
        "Kiiiii-taaaaa!" he wheezed.
        "We'll figure something out," Makoto told Lappie, partially overlooking the fact that Kita was using her as a stepladder to help her climb up on the nearest chair.
        "Hey, you guys have it easy," Tara sighed. She scratched at her head. "I've gotta find a new home for my brother."


    &nb sp;   In the recesses of Sailordarkcosmos' lair, Dark Luna pounded on a piece of metal with a hammer.
        "I'm certainly glad the viel of shadows in this room keeps the others from hearing that, or we'd be dead meat," Sailorsulphur commented.
        Nearby, Sailorarsenic had her hands over her ears. "I wish I was with them right now."
        Darkcosmos joined the group near where the cat was working on the Dream Eater. "Enjoy the sounds of everyday life while you still can, because once my machine is functional, all will be silent forever. And that's not just a bunch of badass bravado!" She nudged Dark Luna with her foot. "How's it coming along, cat?"
        "There's still much work to be done, and Talismans to collect. But it would be a lot easier to test the power center if I had this Talisman, which serves as a conduit," Dark Luna explained.
        "Which one?"
        "One called the Dragonfly. It is owned by Sailorio."
        Arsenic looked up in surprise, then tried to seem less conspicuous.
        "Ah, Sailorio. Now who is she?" Darkcosmos put her palm on the Dark Pearl; her eyes flared with inner light. Then she looked at Arsenic. "She's your sister."
        Sailorarsenic was understandably surprised again; she shifted uncomfortably. "How'd you know that?"
        "The Dark Pearl told me." Darkcosmos ran her hand over the Pearl's smooth surface. "It is the Talisman of the Cosmos. It contains all knowledge, you just have to know how to talk to it. The more I use the Pearl, the more it tells me."
        "Oh." Arsenic's eyes shifted back and forth between the Pearl and Sailordarkcosmos. "What else did it tell you?"
        "Nothing; I didn't ask. I don't want to exhaust it. The Dark Pearl's power may be boundless, but it does get tired. Besides, now that I know she's your sister, I can just ask you." Darkcosmos gave her a wicked smile that sent chills down her spine. "Does she know she's Sailorio?"
        Shaking her head, Arsenic replied, "We've discussed it before, but Kazan- that's my sister -she didn't accept what I told her. She said I was crazy."
        "So Kazan has never received her transformation wand?"
        "If it was offered to her, she refused it," Arsenic shrugged.
        "Hm." Darkcosmos walked the length of the room, thinking. "We'll have to put her in a dangerous position, so her henshin wand will be offered to her. Then she will transform, bring out the Dragonfly, and we'll steal it from her."
        Frowning, Sailorarsenic pointed out, "But if we use her Talisman in the Dream Eater, she'll die."
        What she got in answer was a shrug. "What difference does it make if she dies now or later? I thought you agreed with my final goal."
        "Oh, I do, but... it doesn't make it any easier to see my sister go before me."
        Patting her shoulder, Sailordarkcosmos said, "Think of it this way. Dying like this will be easier on her than what I would do to her if she stood in my way." She smiled cheerfully.
        Sometimes the things Darkcosmos said made Arsenic shudder; this was one of those times. "You make sense. I know what power you have, and I believe in your goal. This would be a merciful fate for Kazan." Still, she sighed.
        "Your sister couldn't take being a senshi anyway, if she's resistant to it," Sailorsulphur added.
        "Right! I mean, when Luna gave me my transformation brooch, I didn't hesitate for a second. I never regretted being the soldier of the moon!" Darkcosmos declared.
        Nearby, Dark Luna started to laugh. "You're leaving some details out there. Such as, the truth!"
        "ARRRRGHH! You're so mean to me!" She angrily pounced on Dark Luna.
        As Arsenic spoke to Sulphur, Darkcosmos and her cat wrestled in the background. "You're right. Just sometimes, it's hard to imagine doing it with my own hands. I remember how close we were as children, and it hurts."
        "Well, if it becomes a problem, let me do all the dirty work," Sulphur suggested, smiling dutifully.
        Darkcosmos poked inbetween them with a squalling cat under one arm. "I've got things to do. You two figure out the plan, and we'll regroup in a few hours. I want MORE Talismans!" She disappeared into the shadows of the other side of the room, Dark Luna still hissing and mewling angrily under her arm. Sweatdropping, the other two senshi watched her go.
        Finding herself curious, Sailorsulphur asked, "So why did you and your sister grow apart?"
        Arsenic brushed at her shock of white hair with her fingertips. "Mostly just because of growing up; you know how that goes. But what our dad did... that really drove a wedge between us." She looked at Sulphur to see if there was any recognition on her face. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"
        Sailorsulphur shook her head. "I've only been in Tokyo for a few months."
        "Oh, that explains it. It was about a year and a half ago. Our dad, he just wasn't himself for awhile... it appeared like he had lost his mind. He kept talking about how all of his coworkers were plotting against him, and how painful their betrayal was because of all the years they'd worked together. Whenever we tried to talk to him about why he suspected such things, he'd clam up and go off by himself.
        "After awhile, his paranoia got worse, and he started spilling more of what was going on in his head. He said..." Arsenic took a deep breath; her hands were beginning to shake from recalling the events. "...he said he was given this information by a pair of red pajamas that he owned."
        Sailorsulphur couldn't help but giggle. "A pair of pajamas?"
        "That's what he said. They came to life and spoke to him, and they never shut up. After the first few times, he started hearing the pajama voice in his head, all the time. Finally they started telling him that his family was plotting against him, and that's when he snapped." Arsenic plopped into a nearby chair because her legs were becoming weak with the emotions this story welled up in her. "He thought the only way he could silence the voice was to placate it somehow, so he acted on its original warnings. He went to work with a gun and killed several of the coworkers the voice had told him were going to betray him. After that, the voice stopped tormenting him."
        Sulphur knelt next to her chair. "So he did it all for you, his family? So the voice would stop trying to turn him against you?"
        "Yeah. That's what he said. I know that he didn't have to handle it that way, but he felt so desperate and tormented that he saw no other way to make it all end.
        "My dad was convicted of the murders and given a death sentence. He's awaiting his execution now. Ever since then, Kazan and I haven't talked as much."
        "Are things just too awkward?"
        "No, it's not that. It's that we don't agree on the verdict. I know my dad wasn't himself when he did this thing. He doesn't deserve to die. He should be in an institution. My sister says it hurts her to believe this, but she can't help but agree with his sentence. Kazan thinks he should die. Our father," Sailorarsenic choked.
        Trying to comfort Arsenic, Sailorsulphur assured, "I'm sure she loves him, she's just ashamed of what he did, and how crazy he became."
        Arsenic gave her an intense look. "But he wasn't crazy to begin with. He was driven over the edge by the things the voice told him. The voice that wouldn't stop tormenting him. But Sulphur, the voice was real."
        "What?!"< br>         "I saw it. My mom had me help her pack up my dad's clothes after he went to jail, because she couldn't stand to look at them anymore... he would never wear them again... and I was alone in their room when I saw it. My dad's red pajamas filled with this black mist in the form of a person, and they walked around the room." Arsenic's eyes grew bigger and bigger as she related this bizarre tale. "A voice came out of the mist and told me I had power to make them all pay for giving my dad that sentence. It was terrifying and spooky, but... I knew the voice was telling the truth.
        "The misty form gave me my transformation wand, and told me to seek out Sailortriton. That's how I joined this group."
        "You listened to the voice after it tormented your father like that?!" asked Sulphur in disbelief.
        "Yeah... it gave me the chance to take hold of my power and use it to make the whole worthless world pay. And ultimately, it offered the truth. Evidence came out later that the coworkers were plotting to cheat my dad out of his hefty year-end bonus. One of the workers who survived blabbed the whole plot out of guilt... and he said... he claimed that my mother was involved, that she was planning on leaving my father for one of the workers who my dad shot, who died; they were going to split the money, all that." Arsenic kept her eyes down in shame, her fists balled up in her lap. "Perhaps the voice should not have fueled his revenge so vehemently, but a part of me knows that it always told the truth, and that those greedy bastards deserved it."
        "What about your mom?" Sulphur asked.
        Shaking her head, Arsenic said, "She claims the worker is lying, that she would never betray her husband, stuff like that. But part of me knows it's the truth. They hadn't been getting along for awhile..."
        "So why this desire to make the whole world pay for what a few people did? I'm curious to know what fuels your allegiance to Sailordarkcosmos."
        "Bec ause people are worthless, all over the world," Arsenic began. "All anyone ever does is pass their judging eyes over people like me who have committed no crime and convict us. They look at me and they think what did she do to make her dad so unstable? He couldn't have been happy with his family life to do such a horrible thing, they think. Was I a gang member? Were my grades shameful? Was I a slut? Am I nothing but a disappointment that left him with no hope for my future? Is that why my dad lost it and shot all those people? A parent feels worthless if they raise bad children, right?
        "I know what they're thinking when they look at me, and I know what thought passes through their minds the most--does it run in the family? Is she capable of murder just like her father? Why is she looking at me like that; is she thinking of killing me right now? Well, I can't deal with it anymore. I want to put out every one of those worthless, judging eyes."
        "This is what Sailordarkcosmos has promised you?"
        "Yes. When she's through, there will be no more betrayal, and no more hypocritical, judging eyes looking at people like me. This is why I agree that the merciful fate for my sister is to die in the manner we've decided on." Arsenic sighed. "She's still my sister, and the fate Darkcosmos has for the world is so much worse."
        Considering all that Sailorarsenic had said, Sulphur took a seat on the floor and began, "My allegiance to Darkcosmos has nothing to do with conquering the world. I don't really care what happens to it. It's not my world anyway. I'm here because of my mother." She shrugged, smiling good-naturedly. "My mother was once the darkest, most beautiful queen in the universe... Queen Nehelenia."
        "Her name is familiar. She's your mom?" Arsenic was glad to have the subject changed; talking about her own troubles always got her so upset and angry.
        "Yes. She and my father had a brief marriage, resulting in my birth. But it didn't last long. The adoration my mother's subjects lavished on her made her a bit vain and egotistical, and that caused many arguments between my parents. He soon realized that the woman he married did not have a nice, sweet side to her just begging to be brought out by love--my mother really was one of the darkest beings ever born."
        "Why do you say that?"
        "Because it's true," Sulphur replied matter-of-factly. "Once they were divorced, my mother endeavored to have my father stripped of his royal title and left penniless. I was still a small child, but that didn't change how she felt about me. She alternated between pampering and raising me to be a tyrannical princess, so I could take her place one day, and flying into rages against me for reminding her of my father. My mother would often slap me and say I was looking at her with my father's eyes, and then she'd send me to live with him until she could stand to be in my company again."
        "That's pretty harsh. I bet you were happy while you were away from her," Sailorarsenic commented. She was surprised to see Sulphur shaking her head.
        "No, not at all. My father's home was a hovel; I hated it. He had no idea how to overcome the setbacks my mother gave him. I think he initially married her for her money and stature. Sometimes he was fun to spend time with, but he never wanted to do the things I really enjoyed. He treated me like a little girl. My mother treated me like a little lady.
        "She showed me how to be regal. How to sit properly, how to carry myself, how to be beautiful. We had fancy tea parties with important people, and she allowed me to attend because I was so good at being a perfect little lady. And I loved it. I'd sit there in my perfect dress with my spotless shoes and eat those tiny finger sandwiches on my lap without dropping a crumb." As she spoke, Sulphur looked up at the wall with a far-off gaze; she seemed to be back at those tea parties instead of sitting there talking to Arsenic. "My mom would look at me with such pride at those moments, I thought my heart would burst. I wanted those moments to last forever. I knew what it felt like to be her. She taught me how to be royalty."
        "But it wasn't always like that. There were times when she was cruel to you," Sailorarsenic reminded her.
        "Oh, but those were the times when I admired her most."
        "You've gotta be kidding."
        "I'm not! When she openly hated me, she showed me her true darkness," Sulphur explained. "It was totally pure and unapologetic. It just flowed from her like a raging river, with no shame. There were no strings attached--it didn't matter that I was her child. She just laid into me as Queen Nehelenia-sama! And I understood why she commanded such fear and respect! I admired that more than anything.
        "There was so much power in her rages--I could feel it."
        Arsenic leaned in, listening with great interest, like one would do with a particularly juicy soap opera. "The power was intoxicating?"
        "Yes! I wanted to be just like her. If I couldn't be Queen Nehelenia-sama, then I wanted to be her right hand, there to worship and serve her. So I could bear witness to my mother's grand darkness at every step." Sailorsulphur wallowed in her thoughts, her chin resting on her palms, her index fingers against her lips.
        It amused Arsenic that the girl had turned what amounted to child abuse into something to be admired. Was that the only way she could deal with the kind of person her mother was? No wonder Sulphur was here, serving the Dark. "So what happened to your mom? What changed?"
        "What happened? Sailor Moon," Sulphur hissed. "My mother took on the White Moon family. She didn't want to see me anymore because I was a senshi. That was how I inherited her dark powers, for some reason. I guess I was supposed to be the protector of the Dead Moon. But I preferred being Princess Helenia myself. Still, my mother sent me out of her sight because she thought Sailor Moon would be able to convert me to the good side, like she had already done to the Amazon Trio. She couldn't take any chances that I would betray her too.
        "When it was all over, I received a message to return to the kingdom. Before I had left, my mother had absorbed all of the dreams of her subjects to preserve her youth and beauty. When I got back I saw that the subjects were back to normal... and Queen Nehelenia had changed."
        "Changed? Was she nice?" Arsenic asked in jest.
        "Yes," Sailorsulphur replied, looking at her sharply. "She was nice--and she was a child again."
        "Huh?! How can that be?"
        "Sailor Moon had healed all of the darkness from her heart, and given her a second chance to live her life over again. Everything was different; I had no place in her world anymore." The last sentence had been spoken through gritted teeth. Sulphur got angrier the more she relayed the story. "All of her beautiful darkness was gone!"
        "What did you do?"
        "I decided to get revenge on Sailor Moon for destroying everything I had ever known. Why did she have to meddle where she wasn't wanted, and change all of my regal tea parties into bedtime stories for my child mother? Instead of gorgeous darkness, my mother had faithful friends. It made me sick! There's no power in that! We were two beautiful, evil royals, worshipped and feared the Dead Moon over! They used to chant our names obsessively..." The expression on Sailorsulphur's face had grown quite obsessed itself as she chanted, "Our beautiful queen, Nehelenia-sama! Helenia-sama, our beautiful princess! Our beautiful queen, Nehelenia-sama! Helenia-sama, our beautiful princess!"
        After listening to Sulphur chant for several seconds, Sailorarsenic realized that hers was not the only voice. Completely unfamiliar voices drifted out of the shadows of the room. "Our beautiful queen, Nehelenia-sama! Helenia-sama, our beautiful princess!" The sound became louder and louder.
        Gasping, Arsenic jumped to her feet. "How are you doing that?" Did the voices come from ghosts?
        Sulphur stood up too, crying, "We were of the darkest royalty!"
        "Our beautiful queen, Nehelenia-sama! Helenia-sama, our beautiful princess!"
        As Sailorsulphur sat back down hard, the voices abruptly ceased. She took deep breaths and clutched at her front bow. "We were the deepest darkness..."
        "What happened when you went to get your revenge?" Arsenic asked, tentatively sitting back down.
        "If I was going to get Sailor Moon, I would have to fight on her terms. So I took up my transformation wand, something I had hardly ever used, and I became the senshi I was meant to be. Sailorsulphur. I thought of everything Sailor Moon had taken from me, and I found her... but she was different. I knew it the second I saw her. Not only her appearance, but something within her heart. What I didn't know at the time was that I had found the Dark side of Sailor Moon, after the personality split. I tried to attack her, but she transformed into Sailordarkcosmos and nearly took my head off. When I saw her in that dark, gorgeous uniform, I realized that Sailor Moon had become just like my mother used to be... a beautiful, dark queen." Sulphur put her palms together and looked at the far away place of her memories over her steepled fingers.
        "That's why you're here. You want to live your dream of being the right hand to the darkest, most beautiful queen in the universe."
        "That's right," Sailorsulphur replied. "My mother's time for glory is over. Sailordarkcosmos can be everything she can't be anymore. I want to be there when her glory is at its height. I want to be that pure."
        "Pure?" Sailorarsenic asked.
        "Darkness can be just as pure as goodness. You just have to believe in it fully."
        "Oh." Pausing, Arsenic suddenly asked, "So are you attracted to Darkcosmos? I mean, is there anything sexual going on here?"
        Sulphur's eyebrows furrowed. "No... I like men. This is all about power." She smiled wickedly at a memory. "Before everything changed with my mom, she stole this really powerful crystal which, up until she was able to take it, had been very well protected. It was kept within the soul of a very handsome boy, and appeared as a golden horn on his head. A beautiful horn. The crystal could destroy entire stars if used properly, and the boy... well he could rule hearts."
        "You were in love with him?"
        "Very much. He was much closer to my age than my mom's, but she had claimed him for herself. She kept him in a suspended state, like a trophy, until she could extract the crystal, and I used to stand and just look at his gentle face." Sailorsulphur smiled again, but this time the smile was predatory. "If anything had the potential to cause a rift between my mother and I, it would have been that boy. But... he eventually escaped our grasp. That was Sailor Moon too."
        A sudden thought made Arsenic laugh and rock in her chair. "You know, listening to your story and mine, I have come to the conclusion that we're a couple of crazy bitches."
        Sulphur smiled back with a shrug. "Maybe so. But at least we're on the right side."
        Across the room, in her own pocket of shadow, Sailordarkcosmos sat with the Itsubun of the Future on her lap. It had nothing new to tell her for now, but maybe that was because she sought information on the past and present. How could they force this Sailorio into a bad spot, so she would transform?
        "We have to put someone she cares for in mortal danger," Darkcosmos said to herself. "Her sister?" She placed a hand on the Dark Pearl, and her eyes glowed. "No... Io wouldn't buy it. She'd just think it was her sister trying to fool her about the senshi crap again. Who would bring the senshi out of her?" Concentrating, she listened to the Pearl's wisdom. "Her team! Team Galileo. Oh, that's good--she'd finally have somewhere to belong if she rejoined them. Io would have to come if they were in danger.
        "Now, how to do it... to really catch them off guard, and send their pain screaming right to Io's ears..." A feral smile slowly spread across Sailordarkcosmos' face. "There was a boyfriend? A batterer? And he now produces rubies from his eyes..."

"I have a score to settle with you wenches. No one makes me look like a fool."
"Because you do it well enough on your own?"
"No one talks like that to me."
"Adam, last time I saw you, you were flailing around on the ground like a stupid fish out of water. Now you're a religious guru to idiots everywhere. And you owe it all to me."
"You won't be able to take what I owe you."
"Bring it on!"
"You're a fool to take on Team Galileo alone."
"I'm not alone."
"And neither are we!"
Sailormoon Dark Episode 25: The Final Galileon II. Ruby Eyes. The moonlight carries the message of love.

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