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Apollo detransformed and stared at the young man.
“I knew that the mythology of the goddess of light was not entirely untrue…the Empress…I was a loyal follower…I knew she would never leave without ensuring that Eterna was protected from any dark forces,” Valin said. “This…the symbol of the twelve soldiers of the Zodiac was what helped me escape from the Anarchy.” He reached out to her and in his hand was the jewel encrusted needle.
“They told me that you were needed. That only you would know how to restore Eterna to it’s peaceful age. You were…the only one who could,” Valin said. “You, however, had died long ago. Your restless spirit floated endlessly throughout the universe, searching for peace which you found in this planet. However, this darkness continued to follow you. By following both the darkness and light…I came upon you." Valin paused. “Still, however, the sleeping princess inside you would never awaken until it was complete…Okashi, your guardian made you complete and I knew this. So, with the power of the Zodiac soldiers, I freed you from the land of the dead and awakened Okashi’s spirit once more.”
“I wasn’t reborn to see the destruction I caused once again…”Asahi mumbled. “I was freed because I was needed.”
“Eos-sama,” Valin bowed. “You never caused this destruction. You were only a child when Anarchy took over. Your powers…they were not awakened yet for you knew nothing but peace. The Zodiac senshi fell trying to protect you because they knew that you could not protect yourself. You did not run…you had no choice. We…the people of Eterna brought this down upon ourselves…I know you could never forgive us…but we know now that you are and always have been, the rightful power over Eterna.”
“Valin…I may not be able to forgive Eterna at this moment…but I know that time will heal the faults of fear. Even if I never do…the people that I loved and lost…I fight for them…” Asahi said, placing a hand on Valin’s shoulder.
Valin looked up at the child’s silver eyes.
Such a young child…yet already so full of wisdom…
“Valin-san…why can’t we return to Eterna?” Okashi asked.
“A barrier…something does not want you to leave,” Valin replied. “An evil activity has been brewing in the Sun for some time now. Until we find the cause for this activity…you will never be able to leave.”
“But we must!” Asahi cried. “We must overthrow Anarchy before all of Eterna dies!”
“I know a way in which you can go to Eterna, but only for a few hours,” Valin said, holding out his hand.
“I don’t understand,” Asahi said, looking at him.
“I am the youngest of the Twelve Mages,” Valin said. “I can lend you enough power to visit Lady Phaedra in the tower of Golden Power.”
“The Mages…” Asahi whispered as she stared at him.
“The mages are the twelve great magicians that serve the Emperor…they are very wise and they know everything that has happened. The oldest one, however, knows everything that has and will happen,” Lady Canserie had said mysteriously.
Young Eos stared at the oldest mage and hid behind the Lady. Most of the mages continued to bow, but the youngest, a small impudent boy kept staring at her and fidgeted as he stood…
“Lady Phaedra lives?” Okashi asked with surprise.
“No…but she is a senshi. She awaits the day when her starseed can return to Eterna and protect the hope it represented once more,” Valin shook his head.
“Then we must go,” Asahi said quickly.
“Transform, Sailor Apollo while raising this to the sky,” Valin said, offering her the needle.
Asahi nodded as she raised the needle to the sky. “Apollo! Golden Starlight!” The needle thrummed with power as she finished her phrase. “Make up!”
Golden light surrounded Apollo in a huge circle, pulsating with energy. She felt strangely calm as the golden light suddenly became stronger and stronger and the roaring in the air was not as aggravating as the shrieking had been. She felt herself floating up, unaware that her two companions had stayed below her.
“I must go with her!” Okashi cried as he flew toward the circle.
“Okashi! No!” Valin said sharply which caused Okashi to swoop up, just inches away from the golden beam. “The energy in the talisman is only enough for Apollo. Besides, had you touched that beam, you would have been turned into dust.”
Okashi blinked a few times, then stared at Valin, wondering if he was joking. Valin snapped his fingers and immediately, Time resumed.
Apollo floated up the seemingly endless beam of light. Space flew around her so fast that she felt like she wasn’t moving at all. Finally, she looked around her and a devastated land appeared.
Below her, the scorched brown earth had cracked in thousands of places. Dying trees dotted the earthy plain, yet grew scarcer and scarcer as she progressed. She did not see, however, the flowers and plants that suddenly sprouted from the ground, following her. This state continued for a few moments before the scene began to change once again. This time, the world around her was a huge storm. A sea in great turmoil lay under her, lashing out at the wind who fought back with lightning and stinging rain. The smokey black clouds, to Apollo, faintly roared and rolled angrily about the sky, growing every restless. As she passed, however, the tempest slowly calmed.
My planet…she is in pain…what has the anarchy done to you, my Eterna? What is the cause of your suffering?
Apollo flew on until suddenly, she began to see a golden orb, shining in the darkness that surrounded it. As she drew closer she saw that it was held by a long spire that glinted merrily in contrast to it’s icy surroundings.
“Princess…come to the tower. Fill it with your presence…”
Apollo obeyed the voice, unable to think for herself. She felt as if she was in a dream. The whole planet seemed so familiar to her, yet she could not place exactly when she had seen it, and she was sure that it was not this way when she remembered it.
Before she reached the golden spire, she disappeared within the beam and reappeared floating down into the spire’s topmost room that was lighted by the beam she had descended from. There, a shining lady in red stood, gaining power from the golden beam that continued to shine into the golden orb.
“Princess Eos…daughter of the Universe…how happy is Eterna to have found you.”
“Lady Phaedra?!” Apollo asked.
` “Yes, my dear…I have awaited this moment for so very long. I was beginning to think that I would never see you again. The powers of the planet are very very scarce now and magic no longer exists within its once plentiful core. I am the last of the good power in this land. Sadly, my power is greatly waning. As you can see outside, the icy darkness is beginning to advance on my haven…”
“What has happened to Eterna?…I don’t remember it’s state…yet I know that it was not barren and cold as it is now,” Apollo asked.
“I am not surprised that you are only beginning to remember all that happened…so long ago… Anarchy, as you know appeared within the hearts of the people. This Anarchy took a form…thus the soldier of lawlessness and death appeared. She attacked with all the forces of the underworld…I now know that that is her true origin. She destroyed the Imperial Castle and caused Eterna’s people to fight amongst themselves. Finally, when all of Eterna had fallen under her spell, she came after you…We, the Zodiac senshi knew that should you fall under Anarchy, the power that is sleeping within you would become corrupted…we had no choice…we had to protect not your body, but your soul. In order to do this…your life in Eterna had to end…”
“You killed me…” Apollo said, her eyes misting.
“Princess…we had to, or you, as a young child would have succumbed to the great power like your people…Afterwards, we had to destroy ourselves…yet our starseeds continue to thrive and remained in the core…keeping the planet from completely dying.”
“What happened to the mages? How did Valin escape? What is this talisman?” Apollo asked as she looked at the small needle.
“The Mages…they disappeared…only Valin remained for some reason. The talisman is where we kept our life forces. When Valin mysteriously escaped from his bondage, he journeyed to earth using it. It was also meant to find you.”
Suddenly, Phaedra gave a loud cry and her image began to fade.
“Lady Phaedra?!” Apollo cried.
“Time has always been my enemy. Your Majesty, there is not much time left…Anarchy, her purpose is to destroy the four seals that keep her world from flowing into ours. If she is not destroyed, the underworld will flow into our world, making the two worlds one…should that happen…the worlds will clash and destruction and life will both disappear from all of the elements that make up this Universe. Remember…the Universe…she is your mother…pray to her and she will grant you the power you need most. Farewell, Princess of the Morning…we shall…meet again…”
Apollo watched as the lady in red disappeared and she stood alone bathed in golden light. Suddenly, she felt herself opening her eyes.
All a dream? A glinting in the ground made her look down and as she did, she saw that it was a locket on a thin gold chain.
“The Lady of Leo wishes to give you this present,” a voice said from behind her.
Apollo turned around, only to find that she was no longer in her fuku. A woman in a hooded cloak stood there, her face hidden by the dark shadows of the hood and her hands within the opposite sleeves.
“Who are you?” Asahi asked.
“I am the keeper of the Golden Tower. I assist the Lady…for now,” the keeper said mysteriously.
“What happened to me? I’m…not Apollo…yet, I’m not Asahi,” Asahi said, looking down at her hands.
“Then that leaves you with one option,” the keeper said without a tone of defiance.
“Eos? But I thought she…I was a child,” Eos said, looking at the keeper.
“In Earth, you are always going to be Asahi. Your life there tells the story of a child. Here, in Eterna, you are shown to be what you are inside as the future Empress. You are a young woman, both in heart and mind. Therefore, here, you are shown as a young woman. Apollo…her power comes from Eterna and the sleeping Princess inside you that is the secret to your shift in forms,” the keeper explained. “The talisman’s power does not allow you to stay as long as you would wish. Take your gift and bring hope back once more.”
Eos nodded and as she raised her hand to the air, she clasped the locket tightly in her hands. “Apollo! Golden Starlight! Make-up!”
“Apollo!” Okashi cried as she appeared down the golden beam. The locket held to her chest. The sun was just beginning to rise as she finally returned.
“Okashi,” Asahi smiled as she became a child once more and she gave the bird a hug.
“What did you find, Princess?” Valin asked expectantly.
“Eterna…the planet is dying…the weather will not stay still unless my presence is near…Valin, what does it all mean?” Asahi asked, turning toward the mage.
“That Eterna cannot survive without you,” Valin said.
Asahi suddenly felt a sting in her hand. As she looked down, she saw that the needle she had tightly held had broken into two pieces.
“What happened?” Selenity asked her court as they all stood within the control room of the Palace.
“The dark cloud is definitely an evil force,” Jupiter said.
“We destroyed it, but I have a feeling that it will soon come back,” Mars said solemnly.
“What’s happening to the power of the Crystal, Queen?” Mercury asked.
“It seems that there’s something around the planet that’s keeping light from entering or leaving,” Luna said, looking at the control panel and pushing a few buttons.
“Can you analyze what it is, Mercury?” Venus asked as she looked over Luna’s shoulder.
“Not…really,” Mercury said. “Our technology is so advanced and this force seems strangely ancient, yet we still can’t figure it out…the irony.”
The three other soldiers hung their heads as they realized that only Mercury would say something out of topic and into something educated.
“What’s going on?” Lady Selenity asked, suddenly appearing in her nightgown and yawning.
“Lady,” Diana said with irritation. “You were supposed to be here a few hours ago!”
“Oh…” Lady Selenity began, but was caught in a yawn. “I’m sorry.”
The four sailor soldiers looked at the young girl and each exchanged knowing glances. She had grown up to be so much like her mother that it seemed almost as if the fourteen-year-old Usagi was standing amongst them.
“What’d I miss?” Lady Selenity asked, looking at the screens.
“Only a really huge disturbance,” Diana said sarcastically.
“A dark cloud appeared and destroyed a small section of the city,” Mercury explained.
Immediately, Lady Selenity looked serious. “What caused it?”
“We’re not exactly sure, although the sun is looking so active…” Mars said, her voice worried.
Asahi did not return home that afternoon and instead, stayed at Valin’s apartment to sleep for the rest of the day.
While she rested, Valin stayed in the living room, reading a huge book and eating a plate of cookies.
“What are you reading?” Okashi asked, eyeing the large book.
“This is a Mage’s book of spells,” Valin said absentmindedly as he bit into a cookie.
“I thought mages were supposed to already know their spells,” Okashi said haughtily.
“I am a new mage. My training was not complete when I left,” Valin said irritatedly.
“So you aren’t exactly a mage, are you? You’re only a mage-in-training,” Okashi smirked.
“How can I be in training when there is nobody to train me?” Valin said, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the bird. “And why so bitter?”
Okashi stared at him for a moment before he began to quietly preen his feathers.
“This is about the princess, isn’t it?” Valin asked, without looking up from the book.
“Huh?” Okashi asked, his head immediately perked up. “You think that I will take her from you in a way,” Valin said, brushing the crumbs from his lap.
“And you think you can,” Okashi said, continuing to preen.
“No, I never meant that. The princess is only a little girl.”
“Shows what you know.”
Okashi took flight out the balcony window as Valin looked up in surprise. With annoyance, he stood up and shut the window as loudly as he could.
Asahi appeared to be alone as she walked about the dark world she suddenly found herself in.
“Where am I?” Asahi said aloud to herself and heard the echo of her voice.
Her heart beat loudly in her chest as she walked about the darkness, wondering what was happening.
“Okashi? Valin?”
“Holder of the light…” a voice called, it’s voice just faintly echoing in her ear.
“Hello?” Asahi said, determined to find out the source of the voice.
“Princess…” the voice became louder. This time, Asahi was almost sure that the voice was a little girl’s.
“Who are you? Why do you keep calling me?!” Asahi screamed.
“Come…can’t…you…” the voice continued in
“Wait! Where are you?!” Asahi screamed as she heard the voice suddenly begin to fade.
“Princess…”
“Hello!” Asahi shouted as she began to run toward the source of the voice. “Wait!”
“Asahi…” Okashi’s voice broke through her dream.
“Asahi?!” Okashi tugged on her sleeve with his beak.
“Wait…” Asahi mumbled.
“Asahi, it’s just a dream, it’s okay,” Okashi said as the star on his forehead began to glow.
“Unhh…”Asahi said, rubbing her eyes as she felt strong arms surround and hold her gently. She looked up to see a faint blur of a head against the light. When she blinked, she saw that there were no strong arms around her, only Okashi who stood beside her.
“It’s alright,” Okashi whispered into her ear.
Asahi took a deep breath, rolled over once and continued to sleep.
Okashi faithfully continued to watch her.