Scene #2535: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Owner	Pose
Chibiusa Tsukino	Masquerade Lapine ran. It was all she knew how to do. She was a coward, a failure, and unintentionally a traitor. She knew it, and now so did everyone else. Her teary red eyes looked back the Crystal Palace, and she gulped. She can't go back. Whatever she'd find back there, forgiveness was probably not high on the list. Yet even so, her fight wasn't over. She couldn't just ''let'' the enemy have the Silver Crystal. So as she notices her mana reserves reaching zero, she lands on the coastline and drops her henshin. Taking the necklace off, she looks down at three items she had no business having. Three things that did not belong to her. Luminous Titan, the Silver Crystal, and the Time Key. The only things that mattered about her were things that weren't even ''hers''. "Luna-P..." sniffle. "... become a submarine!" Chibiusa's hairpin briefly poofs into a catball for a moment, and then again into a little toy sub. A hatch opens on the top, and Small Lady places her necklace inside. "Lumie... momma... Puu... I'm sorry." Then the hatch closes, and Chibiusa picks up the toy sub, spins in place and yeets Luna-P into the ocean. As the catball submerges, Chibiusa stares out at the waves. Now, she is really and truly alone. She turns and runs, away from the coast, away from the things she stole, and away from the Crystal Palace. Luna-P would know what to do with those things. It was evil, she knew. She didn't ''want'' to know, she was in denial, but she absolutely knew that the catball was never quite right inside. Yet she also knew it to be ''loyal''. To her, above all others, and that meant she could trust it no matter what. Too bad she couldn't trust herself.
Usagi Tsukino	Usagi leaves the fight, and her friends, behind her, regretting nothing at all but that she can't ''fly'' the way her daughter can, because her friends are ''strong'', and have fought plenty of strong enemies without her. ''Chibiusa'' has not, and cannot. Chibiusa is a little girl, one who made a ''mistake'', and Usagi knows that her mother and father would forgive her, because she forgives her. Now she just has to convince her of that, and it's a long, long chase as she tries to think of just ''how'' to do that. There's footsteps, at her heels, nearly as fast as her, the swish of Mamoru's cape, and she looks behind her only once, to meet Mamoru's eyes, and to take note of the enemy behind them. Between the two of them, Mamoru's always been the tank. "Hold him off," she urges, "While I get Chibiusa-chan away from here. She's not going to last long, and I - I know you can teleport, but if I can't purify him, I won't last as long." She hates it, hates the mere idea of leaving Mamoru alone to face a monstrously strong enemy again, but it's the ''best'' choice. Because Chibiusa could fly, and she's getting farther, and farther out ahead of them. With Mamoru's agreement, she keeps running - onwards. Towards the coast.
Black Moon Clan	There is another, on that empty coastline, of rotted seagrass and decaying creatures, one distant and looming - a cloaked figure, hidden within the darkness, watching the child banish her toy, turning her back on the creature that was so often called to her aid. "Is there nothing you have left to call your own, child?" His voice is whisper-thin, crackling, like old paper being turned, a voice of weakness, and age. Like an elderly grandfather - like her ''own'' elderly grandfather, Kenji Tsukino, with his hair gone white and his face wrinkled with smile lines. If she looks for him, she'll see the cloaked figure, but only after a moment of searching.
Chibiusa Tsukino	As she hears a voice, ''that'' voice, Chibiusa's mad sprint away from the coast slows down to a run, then a jog, and then a completely stop. Her red eyes are wide open. She is completely alone here, and defenseless. No henshin, no Luna-P, no Time Key... nothing. Yet it's not that bad, is it? That's just grandpa's voice. Kenji's voice. She knows that voice well. "Grandpa?" she calls out, turning her head left to right, searching around frantically. "You shouldn't be out here... gran--" Her eyes finally settle on the cloaked figure. Is that...? Could it be? Chibiusa, tired and desperate, starts trudging towards the mysterious old man. She's not entirely sure she trusts what she's seeing, but... if that's really her grandpa then she can't just ignore that, right? "How did you get all the way out here?" Small Lady still isn't sure what to make of all this. Something here isn't right, but she doesn't know what.
Black Moon Clan	There's an cloaked figure, bent with age - and then, no, that's just Kenji Tsukino, in a thick, heavy coat, hood up to help break the wind, concern in his brown eyes. "Small Lady," he sighs, his voice sorrowful. "You shouldn't be alone either, but, I suppose that's not new." He stretches a hand out to her, as she approaches. "I came after you, of course. With everything that was happening, I knew your mother and father would be too busy for you." The words are harsh, but the tone gentle, sad, trying to soften a harsh truth, rather than cruelly dash a child's dreams. "It's dangerous to be alone."
Chibiusa Tsukino	Grandpa... grandpa shouldn't be here. This doesn't make sense. '... I suppose that's not new.' Small Lady recoils at the words. Ouch, that hurt. She wishes she could tell him that he was lying, but... this is nothing but the truth. Grandpa wouldn't lie to her. '... too busy for you' Oh, that stung. "They're... they're pro--" She starts to defend them, starts to make excuses but no, they aren't busy protecting the Palace. Her friends are. Mom and Dad are busy being in a coma, and that is very directly Chibiusa's fault. 'It's dangerous to be alone.' Small Lady isn't really thinking about Luna-P anymore, or about the fight against the Dragon and the Black Moon Clan. She's sure her friends can get through all of that, assuming they're even still her friends. Looking down at the ground, the wind rustling through her pigtails, she walks towards grandpa and reaches up for his hand. She doesn't want to be alone right now.
Black Moon Clan	"They wanted to protect everyone, I know, Small Lady," Kenji Tsukino's voice says, gentle. "It's not their fault. But protecting everyone always seems to leave you alone, and that breaks my heart." It's so easy, to pick her apart. Centuries of well-worn grooves in that heart, weaknesses built over decades of patterns. "My daughter and son-in-law always mean well, but when it leaves you, waiting in the wings... well, sometimes it doesn't seem worth it." His hand accepts hers. It's cold, that hand, and bony - but it clutches her hand, and holds her tightly. "I suppose it doesn't matter. They'll save the world, and everything will go back to normal. Them, protecting everyone, and you... waiting with your grandmother and I, for them to look back."
Chibiusa Tsukino	Kenji's words sink deeper. Small Lady doesn't mind how bony the hand is. It's grandpa's hand, so it's always like that. Always has been. Always. 'leave you alone' 'doesn't seem worth it' 'waiting... for them to look back'. "They didn't even notice. They didn't even pay attention to... what I did." Chibiusa doesn't confess fully. Does he already know? Well, she supposes it doesn't matter. "I wanted to help them. To be important. To have people look up to me like they look up to momma..." Her voice cracks. Her free hand covers her nose for a moment. "... but they never will now, will they? Everyone knows... how badly I messed up, how I made everything wrong." Grandpa will know too. Sooner or later. Will he abandon her, too?
Black Moon Clan	"I suppose it was too much to hope they would," with her hand in his, the cloaked figure that now so resembles Kenji Tsukino begins to lead Chibiusa further along the coastline. The sky grows darker, above them, the world itself, becoming darker, but in the death throws of the Earth itself, what is a little more darkness? "Your only mistake was in trying alone, Small Lady," Kenji Tsukino's voice says, oh so gentle, oh so kind. "Of course you couldn't succeed by yourself. They should have been there to show you the way." A moment's pause, as he looks out towards the distant, dimming sea. "They should have told you that you were important. You are, Small Lady. You are ''very'' important. The people should have lavished you with praise, and shown you their faith as you deserve."
Chibiusa Tsukino	Small Lady isn't looking at the sky. She's not looking at the world around her. All she's doing is looking down at the ground, down at her feet. Small Lady doesn't deserve to hold her chin up high. She doesn't have the right. Walking hand in hand with grandpa, Chibiusa doesn't even think about where they're going. She's just listening to his words. 'Your only mistake was in trying alone' It was? She... was important. So important, it's true. They should have known that. She should have been able to show them. Just how wonderful she was. Then no one would laugh at her, or tell her that she wasn't really Usagi's child, or treat her like she was weak. No one would try to kill her. "What way is that?" she asks, oh so innocently. Oh so desperately. "What should they have shown me?"
Black Moon Clan	"You have to feel the power, welling up inside you," Wiseman says, and rests a hand gently on Small Lady's head, looking tenderly upon the Rabbit his pitiful puppets had so desperately hunted. "And you must seize it. You always wanted to be your mother's daughter... but your mother wasn't always so brave and strong." The world is darkening all around them, as he guides her deeper. There's a light, at their back, chasing, and screaming, but it's an effortless twist of his power that keeps Usagi Tsukino's voice from reaching Small Lady now. "She was a coward once, a crybaby, selfish, and ''angry''. You've seen that, haven't you? You have to use those feelings, and shape the world with them." Her fear. Her anger. Her thirst for recognition, for power. "You have to ''make'' them accept you. No one will ever give you what you want, not unless you take it from them."
Chibiusa Tsukino	She wasn't? No, of course Sailor Moon wasn't. Not the version that Small Lady saw in the past. Even if it was another timeline, it was still recognizably her. Neo Queen Serenity always seemed so graceful, so wonderful, so beyond reproach. Yet Usagi... was just Usagi. Clumsy, approachable, with relatively little composure. Chibiusa remembered the various barbs she aimed at her alt-mother. It felt good to take her down a peg. Oh, and her anger. Small Lady wasn't there when Koan died, but she heard about it. How Sailor Moon had to be purified after... Anger... was something that Chibiusa had in ample supply. Beneath all the impotence, all the insecurity, all the fear... Boiling under that was a sea, no... an entire ocean... ... of Rage. "I have to... make them..." she repeats. Listening to every word he says. "I have to take it..." Her free hand grips into a ball. She wasn't trembling anymore. Aside from walking alongside her grandpa, she was very, very still.
Black Moon Clan	"You just have to reach out and take it," Wiseman says, and gestures, at the darkness around them. "If your mother could do it, why can't you? If your enemies can do it, why can't you? Why should you be the only one left helpless, clinging to borrowed power?" This, this is what he loves. The moment when the game is almost won, and the final piece is ticking over, into place. "You ''are'' as powerful as your mother. Now prove it."
Chibiusa Tsukino	Small Lady looks up, and at first she's scared. She releases grandpa's hand and takes a step back. Darkness surrounds them, in all directions. Did Wiseman mess up? Has she come to her senses? Is she going to run away? No... she's not going to run. She's not going to because, in spite if everything? This darkness is the only place that accepts her. ... and with that thought, she lets it in. Dark energy pours into her, suddenly and all at once. She breaths it in, it pumps through her blood, washing over every fiber of her being. Corrupting her? No. This is a ''cleansing''. The way she was before isn't the way she's supposed to be. It was wrong. This is right. The change starts from her heart center and spreads out, taking a hue that is somewhere between royal purple and the color of blood. Her hair grows, and so do her legs and arms. All at once her entire form casts aside its childish mask, revealing her truth. The maturity and beauty she's ''supposed'' to have. The ''power'' she's supposed to have. As the dark light fades, a woman stands where a child once did. Dressed in the garbs of darkness, as fabulous as she is cruel. With a chuckle, Wicked Lady playfully covers her mouth. "Prove it? Maybe I will~." ... and everything is as it should be.
Black Moon Clan	There it is. The fear, that gives way to truth. The last bit of fear necessary, because this child, who has flooded with fear at every turn - the fear for her safety, the fear for her security, fear that she will never be accepted, never be loved, never ''worshipped'' - Would only react to fear with rage. With want. And the darkness floods over the Rabbit, transforms her, and Wiseman, who is Death Phantom, exhales a quiet laugh of utter satisfaction. ''Oh, Neo Queen Serenity, who sought to stop him... oh King Endymion, who sought to halt him... How sweet it is, that your daughter shall bring about the final end to your legacy.'' "The opportunity is right in front of you," Wiseman says, and turns, pointing unerringly at the light that draws ever closer. "She would turn you back into nothing, if you allowed it. What will you do?"
Usagi Tsukino	She, is Sailor Moon, running towards them, kicking up sand along the coast, her eyes wide and determined, light sparkling off her golden tiara. "CHIBIUSA!" The beach, the coastline, the ocean, that's where she had tracked her to, followed the trail to where it ended, the last place that Chibiusa ''could'' go, without fleeing directly over the endless ocean. There's darkness, ahead, nauseatingly heavy, and Sailor Moon plunges into it without care, even as the ocean and the shore and the sand fade around her. "Chibiusa-chan, I'm here! Please, come back! It's going to be okay!" She hasn't gone deep enough, to see Wicked Lady, to see Wiseman. But they can hear her. They, for whom the darkness is natural, can ''see'' her.
Chibiusa Tsukino	Wicked Lady casts Wiseman a suspicious look when he speaks of opportunity. Looking back behind her, she recognizes that light. Recognizes who it belongs to. With a sly smile, she 'sits' in the air, floating as easily as one might lean back on a couch. Ah. ''Her''. Her dear sweet mother, still chasing after her. Still trying to hold her ''back''. Listen to her words. Such sweet little lies. Always coming to help. Never letting her shine. Wicked Lady's giggle seems to echo through the darkness, all around Sailor Moon. At first, she can't be seen at all, but her footsteps can be heard. Getting closer. Growing louder. The dark lady stops and stands just barely at the edge of vision, watching silently as Sailor Moon plunges ahead. She considers, for a moment, how exactly to approach the situation. Demande wants her, she knows. Wicked Lady... doesn't actually like that so much. After all, this is ''her'' mother, and she doesn't want to share. Well, okay. She'll share with Mamoru. A little bit. That's different. Wicked Lady doesn't care if her toys play with each other. Just... not Demande. What has he ever done for her? He's no fun. Not cool enough to play with Wicked Lady's mommy. So... how should she work this? "Looking for someone?" she calls out, in a mocking tone. "Looking for me, maybe? How sweet."
Usagi Tsukino	Plunging into the darkness, never mind that it makes her sick. Chibiusa's in here, so Usagi is in here, and everything will be ''fine'', once she ''finds'' her, she'll keep her safe, their friends will be fine, they'll defeat the enemy, and they'll save the world, and her parents will wake up, and everything will be ''fine'' - There are giggles, all around her in the darkness, and Sailor Moon is still a crybaby coward, afraid of scary movies. She shivers, slowly just a little, still moving forward, but nervous. "Chibiusa-chan! I'm here! I'm -" ''here'', but is that enough? Can it be, enough? It has to be. Right? And then, from the darkness, comes the source of those giggles, and Sailor Moon's eyes widen, shock and confusion, as a tall, beautiful woman strides forth, her long, pink hair in tall, pointed odango, her black dress flowing with the movement of long legs. The black crescent moon, on her forehead. "Who - who are -" Looking for someone, she asks, looking for - me? It's just enough. Recognition dawns. "Ch-chibi...usa-chan?"
Chibiusa Tsukino	Wicked Lady strides forward out of the darkness, with the most confidently cruel smile on her face. She's the one in charge here, the one with the power. Not something she borrowed or stole. Something that's ''hers'', well and truly. She breathes in more of the darkness as she walks past Sailor Moon, and then exhales with a happy sigh. "The air in here is so sweet. Such a pleasant fragrance." She spins around, showing off her new form as her red sash hangs from her arms twirl around her. "Really though, do you think 'Chibiusa' is a fitting name for someone like me? I'm far older than you, dear." She sits in the air again, floating casually as she rests her cheek on her fist. "You should respect your elders more, you know. Children like you really don't know anything about the world." Wicked Lady leans forward from her invisible 'chair', offering Sailor Moon a hand. "You should let me show you. Show you the truth. The truth that moonlight wont let you see."
Usagi Tsukino	The air in his poison, rotten, ''gross''. This taller, older, ''beautiful'' Chibiusa is out of her mind - but of course she is. Sailor Moon steps back, as Wicked Lady steps forward, but only the single step, because she's still ''Chibiusa''. And she can't flee, from her. "If you don't want to be called Chibiusa anymore, what ''do'' you want me to call you?" She asks cautiously, reclaiming that single missed step. "Small Lady doesn't fit either - you're taller than me." Taller than her, older than her, mature, the way ''Hotaru'' had been, as Mistress 9, the way ''Molly'' is as Seriss Nyx - is this what it means, to give into Dark Energy all the way? But this strange, older, taller, bigger, Chibiusa sits in the air the way she had as a child, casual and confident, only - there's cruelty in her smile, and a lot more leg showing, now that she had so much more leg to show. "Dark energy doesn't really - agree with me. You know that. And - there's plenty the moonlight reveals. That's it's whole ''thing''. Don't you want to go back? Mamochan's waiting for us, Laura-chan and Hotaru-chan, they're waiting for ''you'', too!"
Chibiusa Tsukino	"What should you call me?" Wicked Lady presses a finger against her chin and tilts her head. "Hmm... Well, since I'm a part of the Black Moon Clan, maybe Bl--" She pauses mid speech, makes a face, and then shakes her head. "Actually, no. No we are not doing -that-." Steepling her hands together, she smiles and says, "Let's go with... Wicked Lady." Leaning forward, Lady narrows her eyes and smiles widely. She reaches out to touch Moon's cheek and look into her eyes. "Darling, darling... my dear sweet mother... If the darkness doesn't agree with you, then stop arguing!" She shakes her head and tsk tsk tsks. "Oh, dear. Of ''course'' we'll go back! We'll just..." Her red eyes start glowing pink as she gets closer. "... be doing it on ''my'' terms." Her long nail drags down Sailor Moon's cheek, stopping just under her chin. "Aren't you happy for me, mother? Aren't you... proud of me? Don't you want to play with me, to get along with me, to support me?" There's a poison in her words. Soft, soothing, hypnotic. Just let it in, Sailor Moon. "It's a lot more fun on this side. Trust me."
Usagi Tsukino	A member of the Black Moon Clan, and it ''hurts'' to hear that, knowing just how frightened, how angry, how ''helpless'', they had made Chibiusa feel, but she has to stay calm. Sailor Moon has to stay ''calm'', because being ''angry'' will not help in this moment. Not surrounded by so much Dark Energy. "Wicked Lady," she starts, only to falter, as said Lady's hand reaches for her cheek, touch ever so gentle. Her hand is cold. Her touch is soft. Her red eyes stare directly into Sailor Moon's blue ones, and she thinks, inanely, that this is the nicest Chibiusa's ever spoken to her. Ouch. "I - Chibiusa-chan -" And then Wicked Lady's eyes glow, and there's a fog, that falls over Sailor Moon, over Usagi, a ''warmth'', that entices, that calls, that almost ''pleads'', under that calm, silken tone, for her to ''listen''. "This isn't you," she tries, and then trips, on the words, on the sentiment, long nails dragging down her cheek, a spark of pain, a cutting edge to soft, soothing words. "I - I'm always proud of you, Small Lady." She is. Even when she's annoyed, even when she's angry, even when she's ''tired'', she's ''always'' been proud of Chibiusa, for what she can do, for who she ''is'', for being so ''strong'', when it's so hard - She's been jealous, all along, that Mamoru could get along so well with their future daughter, when all she wanted to do was tear Usagi down. What did she do, to upset her so much? How did she fail? Here's her chance to get it right. Her chance, to play with her little girl, to get along, to ''be at her side'' - Her eyes are so focused, and Sailor Moon's are so heavy. Her voice is so soft. "I trust you, daughter." Her henshin doesn't break - it simply falls, in a flash of light, Usagi Tsukino leaning into Wicked Lady's touch, her blue eyes glowing pink, as the darkness folds over her, cloaks her body in a new transformation. It hurts. It's not a comfort, to feel the dark roil through her, and she cries out, every muscle gone tense, hands spasming into claws, feet digging into the ground, but she doesn't tear away from Wicked Lady's grasp, through it all. And then New Moon breathes out a little sigh, and lifts her head, smiling warmly at her daughter. "What do you want to play first, Wicked Lady?"
Chibiusa Tsukino	Ah, such a delight. Watching as Sailor Moon falls. The turn of the mind from light to dark. Wicked Lady revels in it, as now Sailor Moon, no-- New Moon, is well and truly hers. Not Wiseman's. Not Demande's. Hers. The dark lady withdraws her hand, leans back and chuckles, giggles, ''laughs''. Oh... oh this is rich. This is ''succulent''. Delicious, even. Ending her laugh with a happy sigh, she taps the side of her chin. "Ah... good question~. What shall we play?" Her red eyes turn back to the direction Usagi came from, to where the light was. Her mind goes to Mamoru and Demande, who are... doing what exactly? Whatever. Lady knows fully well that Demande doesn't really ''want'' Mamoru. He's not a ''threat'' to her plans. "No one should recognize who you are now, so let's play a game where we see how long we can go before Demande figures out who you are." She wags her finger and says, "I don't like the way he looks at you, so I'd prefer if he simply not notice you at all." With a twisted frown, she crosses her arms and scowls back in the direction of the coastline she just came from. "I ''suppose'' we should also be looking for the other Silver Crystal, but... Oh, who knows where that is right now?" Her feet sit down on the ground right now, and she paces around New Moon while tapping her chin. She got her alt-mom. Now what?
Black Moon Clan	"If I may," Wiseman says, clearing his throat in a gentlemanly manner. His voice is still paper-thin, whispery. "Your game certainly does sound entertaining. And I do believe that foolish boy has gotten ahead of himself, in stealing one of your toys, Wicked Lady." The Rabbit has gone ahead and captured him a second rabbit - what does he care, if she wishes to torment his original puppets, lead them along by the nose, chasing a woman already in their grasp? The Silver Crystal, on the other hand - behind his cloak, Wiseman's gaze narrows, on Wicked Lady. If she must ''look'' for the Silver Crystal, then she no longer ''has'' it. That won't do. He will need both, to wield ultimate power, to ''ensure'' that this galaxy becomes his own Garden of Eden, flowing with rivers of blood and tears. "You'll find them on Nemesis. Let me show you the way."
Usagi Tsukino	New Moon follows Wicked Lady's gaze, turning back to the direction she was vaguely aware she herself had passed along. Thee empty path of the beach is marred only by their footsteps - hers, and her little girl's. There is no trace of the third among their party, and no evidence of Wicked Lady's footsteps at all, given her newfound penchant for floating about. "That sounds fun, darling," she says cheerfully, lips parting with a bright smile. "Let's make him your toy, until you get bored of him." Hiding in not-quite-plain sight suits her - after all, it's a mother's job to support her child, not outshine her. Wicked Lady is the centerpiece of this operation - New Moon is just happy play her part. Wiseman earns a bare flicker of her attention, eyes shot in his direction before returning to focus on Wicked Lady. "You can do whatever you want, go wherever you please, because the universe is for ''you''...but it does sound like it would be easier to play this game on Nemesis, where all the pieces are waiting for you."
Chibiusa Tsukino	Wicked Lady's head immediately swivels towards the source of Wiseman's voice. She frowns at him when he mentions that Demande has ''stolen one of her toys''. The message behind that is pretty clear. Well, it's to be expected. At least he didn't ''break'' him. Wiseman's narrowing eyes... unsettles her a bit. As powerful as she feels, his displeasure is somewhat... worrying. At least, until the darkness clouds her mind again and she forgets what he represents. Ah, the sweet sound of her mother's encouragement. The love and admiration she was promised. It brings a smile to her wicked lips. "Oh, you'll lead us to Nemesis? Splendid!" she says, folding her hands together. Cheerfully, if a little too much. She reaches out to take Sa-- New Moon's hand and briskly walks forward, not seeming to care whether or not New Moon is coming along willingly. Lady makes the choices here, now! She really is oh so cheerful when she says, "Let's go to Nemesis, and check up on Mamochan!" Stating it like a suggestion, when really it's a command.