Shattered Skies: The Morning Lights

CHAPTER 26: Objective Insecured

Notes:

WARNING: This chapter contains disturbing content that may be triggering to some, including depictions of violence, body horror, physical and mental trauma, and death.

Chapter 26: Objective Insecured

La Fin de Toute

(Formerly known as Galactica Palace)

Entrance

"Whuddyuh bean id's uh Cahd?" Erika Kurumi, Cure Marine, spoke in a voice that was muffled by the trauma to her nose from a few moments ago. It sounded like she had a bad cold. "Id's uh wall! Uh bigh, sthupid, inbisuhbuhl wall!"

After a few seconds spent translating that statement, Sakura Kinomoto shook her head. "Not just any card. One of my Cards. The LOCK. It's one of the ones Joker stole... he must have brainwashed it like he did NOTHING and the others."

Chibi-Usa Tsukino (who had decided to retain the name "Sailor Chibi-Moon" for the time being, despite being a bit too old for it... if only to lessen confusion) put out a hand. After a few inches, she felt resistance there, like a pane of impossibly smooth glass. "Can you open it, Sakura-san?"

Sakura nodded and wiped her brow. "I-I think so. I just don't know whether I can do it while still keeping ILLUSION working."

"At this point, I don't see many other options," said Alph, standing with her arms crossed a few paces behind them. Her ears were half-flattened, a sign of tension that belied her attempt to look calm and casual. "Give it a try."

Sakura nodded and inched forward. At her silent command, the Sealing Wand shrank back to its key form. Closing her eyes, she reached out not with her body, but with her inner senses, drawing on Kero's training that she remembered from long ago. Yes, she could see it now: a vast, dome-shaped field encompassing the palace, and a bulge in that field, a few meters away at ground level, a bulge with a familiar shape. "This way," she said without opening her eyes. "It's here." Her fingertips traced the smooth, curved shackle, the rounded rectangular body that housed the integrated drum and chamber. The same simple padlock shape that LOCK always had when it was released, but something about it felt... cold. Wrong. Just wait, she thought. I'll have you back to normal soon. With great care, she slid the end of her key into the tumbler...

All the others started as a fat spark erupted from the field, making Sakura cry out.

"Sakura!" Nagisa Misumi, Cure Black, was the first at her side. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"It-" said Sakura, tears welling in her eyes. Gingerly she showed the Precure leader the angry red marks on her fingertips. Painful, but nothing serious. "It won't let me open it."

"Well, what should we do, then?" Kirara Amanogawa, Cure Twinkle, kicked up a floating cloud of space dust as she tapped her foot impatiently. "Try to bust through it, or what?"

"Let me try one more time." Sakura sniffled and wiped her eyes, then her brow again. She felt a bit lightheaded. "I think I can reach it, just let me talk to it."

Michiru Kaioh, Sailor Neptune, pressed her lingering doubts back down and nodded. Sakura knew her Cards better than anyone, it was her call to make. "If you please."

This time, Sakura took hold of the padlock, feeling its presence with both her hands and her power. "This isn't you,"she whispered. The LOCK's spirit stirred, sharper and crueler than she remembered, sending prickles through her tender fingertips. "This isn't who you're supposed to be. Please, try to remember."