A Nightmare In The Moon

Awakening After The Adventure

 ~ Chapter Four~

If Moonlight was any less determined to find her sister, she would've given up HOURS ago. While Jenifer glared at Tsuki's crystal ball, watching Lily, the rest were training hard. "WHAT'S WITH LILY NOW!?" Niagara yelled when Jenifer grumbled something about 'Dark Spirits mixed with pie headed cows and pumpkin brained chickens' for the trillionth time. "I DON'T KNOW!" Jenifer yelled back. "JUST THAT SHE'S COMPLETELY MESSED UP NOW!" "AHEM. That's my sister you're talking about." Moonlight cut in. "Calm down, Arisha." Aurora said, making her way to the crystal ball. "But yeah, she's pretty messed up right now." Arisha hung her head. She had to do something - but she knew they were too late. Darkness had consumed her sister entirely now, and it would be near impossible for her to return. "She's not Lily anymore," Tsuki said, frowning as she gazed into the ball. "Let me see," Moonlight said. She focused on the shadows moving in the seeing ball. There was a familiar cackle that belonged to Lily. Then she heard it: "The Queen Of Darkness has finally returned!"

"Are you sure you're ready?" Crystal asked anxiously. Moonlight nodded. She and Aurora were on their saddles, ready to take off. They had each prepared a traveler bag of their own, and one full of gold coins and food and water they would need during their journey. Aurora had a set of silver armour that she brought along, a long sword that used to belong to Adira, a spell book and the Book of Wisdom, even though Eve had made it clear that it was better not to use it. She rode on Luna, behind Moonlight. Moonlight didn't bring any armour, and her weapons aside from her powers were the pair of bow and arrow that once belonged to Orca, made from a trim of the moon. She also brought along plenty of books to keep company, even though most of the information was firmly put in her mind. She chose to ride on Luna, because the power of the moonlight would be useful against shadows and darkness. She would be able to call on Aqua anytime with her water gem. Adira had also granted the two of them the power of nature for the fight soon to come, but the power would wear off as soon as the Queen of Darkness was defeated. They had learnt some basic skills in the few hours of preparation. Before they left the water kingdom, Moonlight glanced at the boundary. "Do you think she'll be able to - to enter? I gave Lily permission to do it a few years ago." "A few years ago, meaning seven years ago." Aurora said. "The spell should've worn off by now. Even Mom can't keep a charm that long." "I suppose so." Moonlight glanced at the stars. We're coming for you, Lily. "Bye," she said, waving at her family. Aurora followed. Adira nodded. "Don't forget - I put a special package in your bags. Don't open it until you need it, or else bad things will happen. Understand?" "You said that already!" Aurora yelled back. "A trillion times!" Moonlight added. She reached for the stars and muttered a spell. With a flash, they disappeared, dragon and humans all. When Moonlight opened her eyes, their surroundings had changed. She glanced back to make sure Aurora was behind her. It was still nighttime; an exceptionally clear night, with the full moon hanging in the sky. There were barely any stars to be seen. She shivered, realizing she had a weak connection and it would be hard to teleport back anytime soon. They were hovering above a long, spread-out landscape of pine forests. Mountains enveloped behind them. "The Rocky Mountains," Aurora breathed. Moonlight nodded. Luna beat her wings steadily, catching the current. They were still a long way above the earth. "The Northern Lights," Aurora breathed. "The Aurora." Moonlight agreed, staring at the lights in the sky. Blue, purple, pink, green, orange, red - every color you could possibly imagine rested in the sky, snaking, weaving across the stars, over their heads. Suddenly a strange thing happened. Slowly, bit by bit, the darkness spread across the sky, inking the lights into blackness. A high-pitched cackle rang in the air. "Finally - now, after I conquer the sky, I will conquer the earth!" "Is that . . . Lily?" Moonlight whispered, eyes wide. "Yes. I think so." Aurora whispered. "Not as you know her." Another voice said. It was raspy, cold, even. "What did you do to her!?" Moonlight yelped. "It's too late to save her, if that's what you're thinking. She's past the point of no return. And with my other puppets, soon the world will be MINE!" "NO IT WON'T!" Aurora yelled. "LILY WILL STOP YOU!" "Oh, but here's the thing: She won't." "W-why not?" Moonlily whispered. "Because of this." The voice told them. "VIA!" Moonlight yelped as Princess Olivia emerged from the forest, her eyes glowing black. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?" Aurora shouted. "I simply gave her some advice. And she agreed." The voice said. "You want your sister back, don't you? Well, you can have her if you really want it - if you join me." "NEVER!" Moonlight yelled. "Don't worry. They just need a little push in the wrong direction." Moonlily's voice told the other voice. "And my minions will be giving them a shove." "LILY!" Aurora shouted. "Yes, I'm Lily. What do you want?" Lily asked, sounding annoyed. Aurora blinked. Once, twice, three times, four times, and there was an explosion behind them. Lily was thrown back and she landed - hard - on her timbit (which basically means bottom) "Your minions!? What do you mean, your minions!? You aren't the heir to any throne!" Moonlight said. "But I am the Queen Of Darkness, am I not?" Lily asked coldly. "Come. I have ... a little something to show you." The raspy voice said, and they disappeared in a swirling cloud of black. They appeared in an enclosed cavern of dark rock. Luna flickered and disappeared. There was a magical boundary around this space. Moonlight reached out, but found the connection with the stars slipping out of her grasp. "When shall we do it, your majesty?" The raspy voice asked. Lily watched them coldly. The side of her mouth twisted. "Tonight," she said in a bored voice that Arisha had never heard her use before. "Of course, your majesty." By now the last kind thoughts had been eaten up in Lily's mind. She rose up and yawned. "I shall return to the moon now. You know what you shall do." With that she vanished into the night sky with a long cackle. Moonlight felt Aurora nudge closer to her. The black smokey figure advanced on them. Suddenly mist enveloped them, covering them like patches of black cocoon. Moonlight had read of the Skull before. The only things they were afraid of was nature and sunlight. They didn't have sunlight, but they did have nature. Moonlight's eyes locked with Aurora's. Aurora nodded. "One - two - GO!" She yelled. A burst of energy shot out of the rock underneath them. Vines sprouted to life and twirled upwards as the raspy shadows shrieked and escaped into the night. Moonlight and Aurora watched them leave. Then Moonlight turned around, to the inside of the cavern. Aurora followed her gaze. It was a narrow, long tunnel. "Come," Arisha whispered. She led Aurora to the back of the cave. "You can come out now. They're gone." She told the darkness. There was a rustling. A moment later, Princess Magnolia emerged from the shadows. She was pale and shivering, and her face lit up at the sight of her cousins. "Finally!" She yelped, flinging herself onto Moonlight. "Shh. They're just outside the cave." Moonlight warned. Aurora tilted her head, confused. "Wait . . . I don't get it. How did you know she was here? How did you know the Queen of Darkness was here in the first place?" "That's me you're going to congratulate," Magnolia said. "Of course!" Aurora slapped her head softly. "Yes - I should have remembered. So you were the spy that Arisha sent that day." Magnolia nodded sorrowfully. She turned to Moonlight. "I'm sorry, but she's changed so much. I don't think you can convince her to become friendly. It's been seven years since you've last seen - you did see what she was like just before, did you?" Moonlight nodded, her head drooping. "It's okay," Aurora said softly. "We can do it, like I said before. Didn't Mother mention something about a magic package? Maybe that will help." "But she said not to open it unless we really need to," Moonlight reminded her. "Which is now," Aurora insisted. "If this doesn't count, I don't know what does." "What package?" Magnolia asked curiously. "Speaking of magic - Aunt Adira told me to give you something. Can I see your earth gem?" Magnolia handed Moonlight her gem. Moonlight took out a small leaf pouch and poured some magic powder onto the emerald. It shimmered once, twice, thrice, and then settled down. The gem seemed to grow a little brighter. "That just added the power of nature to your gem," Moonlight explained. "You already have the power of earth, so there's not a big change. This will be useful to fight against the Skull." Magnolia nodded and took a deep breath. "So," she said. "Where's that package you mentioned?" Aurora led them to the cave. Their travelling bags were thrown on the floor and shredded, but the contents were still intact. From the bottom of the scraps of fabric she found a long wooden shelf. Moonlight peered over excitedly. "Wait, there's words on it: "only to be opened when needed; will cause damage when unnecessarily used. That sounds exactly like what Aunt Adira said. "Maybe we shouldn't . . . ?" But Aurora and Magnolia were already excitedly pulling open the sheath. Suddenly a bright light shot out of the case. They shielded their eyes. "I've read about this before," Moonlight grunted, opening her eyes. "We can use it to banish her." "Again?" Magnolia asked. "No, just the Queen Of Darkness. Preferably to the moon. Maybe for a thousand years, because that's the longest a magic artifact can hold someone. That is, if she doesn't banish us first -" "Which, sorry to disappoint you, but has already happened," Magnolia noted as they landed on the Moon. Moonlight rubbed her knees and stood up. Through the soft silvery glow around them, she made out an osmanthus tree in the distance. The pale white flowers were in bloom. She had a feeling they were and would always be. Behind it was what used to be a misty temple where once lived the Moon goddess. Now it had changed into a frightening fortress of black obsidian. Dark clouds swirled around the tall towers. "Her palace," Arisha realized. "Who?" Magnolia whispered. "Lily," Aurora informed her. "The Queen of Darkness." "Do you still have the wooden sheath?" Arisha asked Magnolia. Her cousin nodded. "I closed it just in time - it transported us here preferably, but we aren't banished yet. Now we just need to find the Queen of Darkness and use it on her, before it works its magic on us." "We don't need to," Aurora said. "What makes you say that?" Arisha asked. Aurora nodded in the direction of the palace. "We've been spotted." Sure enough, the great castle doors creaked open on its frozen hinges. Slowly a figure flew outside ghostly. Lily looked even worse than before. Her hair wasn't made, dangling at her shoulders and unequal. Her eyes were black instead of the normal blue, and her lip was strangely black too. She looked paler than ever and very skinny too, as if she had been feasting on fear and shadows, which she probably had. She wore a ripped black cloak that made her seem menacing. Magnolia whimpered. "Hello," Lily hissed in a cold, raspy voice that didn't sound like her. Slowly she approached them with her thin fingers outstretched like a ghost, rasping heavily for breath. Magnolia tugged on Arisha's sleeve anxiously. Aurora closed into them, trying her best not to shiver. Moonlight studied her long-lost sister doubtfully. Behind her back, she felt Aurora pass her the wooden sheath. Suddenly the Queen of Darkness lunged at them. Magnolia screamed and rolled away as long nails slashed at her; Aurora pulled out her sword and leapt into battle position; Moonlight unlocked the sheath and opened her water gourd. "Stop, Lily! You aren't thinking straight!" She cried. Lily cackled. "Open your eyes and see, Moonlight Sunflame. I am not Lily. Lily does not exist. Only I do. I am the Queen of Darkness!" "Run!" Aurora yelled. "I WOULD REALLY LIKE AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT'S GOING ON!" Moonlight screamed "I am everyone. I am no one. I am everything and nothing. I am darkness, waiting to be commanded. I am neither good nor bad. But now I serve my queen." The raspy voice said. "No speak. Fight now!"The Queen of Darkness ordered. She slashed at Aurora, who defended herself with her sword. Suddenly the Queen of Darkness jerked up and hissed, swirling around with a flourish of her black robes. Moonlight stood behind her, holding up some gems. They swirled around, hovering above her hand then floating into the air and swirling around Lily. Suddenly they shot out jets of rainbow magic and enveloped the Queen of Darkness. Moonlight shielded her eyes. The others did the same. There was a shriek from inside the light. "Oh, no!" When the light died down Moonlight rushed up to the gems, which had shattered on the marble floor. Laying in the center of them was Lily. Not the Queen of Darkness - just Lily. The Lily that she remembered. As they watched, Lily's eyes turned from black back to mint green, and her black robes transformed into black leggings and a white T-shirt. The color returned to her lips and her pale, ghost-like face became lively and rosy again. Her hair changed from black to light blue. Even the black diamond gem around her neck turned into an opal. She opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing her head and trying to find the tender spot. The shadows of darkness around her vanished with cries of dismay. She rubbed Fang behind his ear and gazed consciously at her cousins and sister. "Arisha," she said, a little dizzily. "I need - help - going to - pass . . . out." With that Moonlily Sunflame fainted.