Sailor Moon: New Moon

Chapter 5

Somewhere outside the solar system, on a lonely moon of a dead planet, a figure stood alone and observed the stars in the distant galaxies. The figure was a woman, very tall but not too skinny. Her pale green eyes looked like poison in contrast to her tanned skin. Her short, snow white hair made her look even more mysterious and surreal. She wore a loose type of dark purple material that wrapped around her bust and exposed her tummy. The top of the cloth hung over her shoulder and laid there. The bottom of it turned into a fitted skirt that hit the ground. Around her neck and as earrings was a black onyx. The stone was in the shape of an oval and was as dark as her soul. They all shimmered with power.

"This is the perfect moment, father," she whispered. "The light of the lunar-born Earth Queen is fading."

"Patience," a non-human voice replied, which seemed to not come from only one direction, but rather from everywhere around her. It was the darkness itsef talking to her. "Patience, Atropos, my child. Many have failed to defeat the Queen because they underestimated her power. Do not make the same mistake."

"I am not stupid," she growled. "It is you who keeps underestimating me. Did I not help you to conquer so many worlds already? Nobody was able to stop me."

"Be careful not to be overcome with vanity and arrogance, Atropos," the voice scolded her. "As helpful as they are to us when they conquer the hearts of our enemies, they have more than once caused us problems when we ourselves became their victims."

"So, you suggest I wait a while longer?" she asked, obviously annoyed.

"I suggest you gather your army. When the time is right, we shall strike. This time, the lunar-born Queen will not prevent me from taking over the Earth and the entire Solar System. But first, we shall play with her a bit."

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"What is it that you wish to see?"

Lady Mars walked along a lonely path surrounded by pillars. The pillars reminded her of those she saw on the Moon long ago. Other than the pillars, she could see nothing, just the endless path before her.

She turned around, hoping to see someone - or something - there, something which would give her an idea of where she was. But the sight before and behind her was the same - an endless path, leading to nowhere.

"Which way do you want to take, Mars?"

She could hear this voice talking to her, but she couldn't determine where it was coming from. For a moment, it seemed like it was coming from inside her. Most people would have been scared or confused by now, but Lady Mars was a medium - she knew that the spirits sometimes used riddles and dreams to send their messages to the world of the living. That is why she remained calm.

"Whichever path I take, I will not regret it", she replied to the voice. "Because it will be my own."

"You are wise", the voice said, a voice which sounded so soothing and so familiar. "The choice you shall make has already been made. Just make sure you are ready when it is time to go. The brightest star in the sky will lead the way."

Lady Mars woke up feeling surprisingly calm. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling.

"The choice I am to make has already been made..."

She repeated those words to herself out loud, as if trying to understand their very essence, to capture their true meaning. She knew by now this wasn't just a random dream, this was a message - a message from someone. She knew Neo Queen Serenity had been seeing a mysterious woman in her dreams, but even though Mars was almost entirely sure that the voice from her dream also belonged to a woman, she herself didn't see anyone.