Sailor Moon: Sailor Cosmos

Chapter 24: Fallen Rose

In a dark void, out in space, Maverick trudged the darkness of the Ergosphere fortress. The hall was lined with sapphire flamed torches that dimly lit that hallway. He came to a door on his right and it opened for him. He stepped in and before him was an army of statues. Statues of Sailor Soldiers. Hundreds of them. These statues were not made of stone or any other normal elements. These statues held the actual bodies of the Sailors he and his comrades had defeated. Stuck in a petrified state, concealed by darkness. Each statue had a living soul, though many had become actually statues as the souls within had slowly faded away, entailing their deaths. Maverick walked down a narrow aisle in the middle of the room all the way down to a row of newly made statues. At the center of that row was none other than a statue of Sailor Mars. Her soul was one of the very few still intact and alive.  He used his dark power to create a evil model identical to the real one by extracting her soul from the body statue, using it to his convenience. "Hello~," he put his hands on the statue's cheek, in leaning into her face, "it's time to wake up, my Red Beauty." He kissed her lips, pulling her out of the statue. This wasn't Rei, but the being named Lady Red. She comes out of the statue of herself completely immersed in the kiss with Maverick. She stands embracing him gently. Their lips part. She stares into his eyes with devotion and love, though her eyes show no sign of life in them. She can't resist him because she is his puppet. She doesn't speak unless he wants her to speak. She stands wanting for an order. "How are you?" he asks. "We've got more work to get done with the other Sailors." He glanced at her emotionless expression. "What's that long face for?"

"Nothing," she answered in a monotone. "I have no desire to be with them. My only duty is to serve you."

"Good," he touched her cheek. "Red truly is the best color."

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Usagi, Makoto, Haruka, Setsuna, and Hotaru stood waiting outside the door of a hospital room. From around the corner of the hallway came Ami, Minako and Michiru. Usagi and the others were happy to see that they were fine and well. Haruka ran over to meet Michiru. She took her hands, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll live," Michiru smiled holding her own cheek. Haruka smiled with content.

"It looks like we weren't mortally wounded," Minako said.

"Minako-chan! Ami-chan!" Usagi and Makoto gave them each big hugs.

"Yeah, his attack came out of nowhere," Ami said still remembering her body being filled and consumed by overwhelming darkness. It sent chills to her. "Sorry I worried you."

"Not at all!" Makoto patted her back. "You're all fine."

"Well, almost all of us," Setsuna affirmed to the group. "Dia-san's body seems to be in critical distress and Rei-san is still being held captive."

Rei-chan..., a crestfallen expression appeared on Usagi's face.

"Is it really alright to let it be like this?" Hotaru uttered.

"...? What do you mean Hotaru-chan?"

"The mirror. He took it. The mirror was probably...no it was our greatest advantage over our enemy. I had a feeling that it was something with unbelievable power that we could possess. Now that it's gone our chances of defeating the Ergosphere have decreased tremendously."

"It's not 'was', Hotaru-chan," Usagi corrected the younger girl. "It's still is within our reach of possessing. I know there really isn't anything we can do right now to get Rei-chan or the Constellations back, but that doesn't mean we should lose all hope. Hope is probably the only thing keeping me going now. And we have Dia-chan, she'll help us for sure." Usagi looked to the door of the hospital room they were gathered in front of.