Fall Of The Star Sentinels Ch 01

As the darkness enveloped Nea, she panicked. She wasn't proud of it, but she simply couldn't help herself. This was all wrong. She'd thought they had a plan. Or that Akemi had a plan, at least. How had things gone so wrong, so fast? It didn't make any sense. Nea turned this way and that, but she couldn't see anything except the raging tempest of shadow all around her. She cried out, but no-one returned her cries. She couldn't even hear herself, over the deafening sound of the howling winds. What was she supposed to do? Was she still in the church? It didn't feel like it, somehow. But then, where was she? She didn't know. She didn't know any of it. Where was Akemi, or Riley, or Lian? Nea knew she wasn't cut out for this, not alone. There was nothing she could do but wait for whatever was happening to her to be over.

Eventually, the tempest subsided. Nea glanced around nervously. The church was utterly gone. Instead, she found herself in a cave. It was large and dark, although illuminated dimly by dozens of green, glowing gemstones set into the walls and the ceiling. Nea blinked several times as her eyes gradually adjusted to her new surroundings. How was this possible? Some kind of teleportation magic? She didn't think so. It didn't feel like teleportation magic. Being a Star Sentinel gave Nea a sense for magic, even if she wasn't an expert. If she'd had to guess, she would have guessed that it was some kind of pocket dimension.

Given the kinds of demons they were dealing with, that probably meant it was a pocket of hell. Nea tried very hard not to think about that. Instead, she focused on what she was going to do. On that front, there were really only two choices: forward, and back. As far as Nea could tell, there were no other tunnels or passageways beyond the one she had found herself in. Behind her was nothing but darkness, while in front of her, she thought she could see a small glimmer of light at the end. That was better than darkness. Forward it was, then.

But no sooner had Nea begun to walk than she heard an inhuman, feminine, sing-song voice calling out to her from up ahead. "Oh, Sailor Green!" it called out. "I'm so glad you've come to play with me! I have so much to show you."

Nea stopped in her tracks, and trembled. Clearly, she wasn't alone. She couldn't see it, but somewhere up ahead, there was a demon, waiting for her. That realization was almost enough to make her want to turn tail and flee as fast as she could, but she steadied herself. She needed to be brave, just like Akemi would want her to be. "W-what do you want, fiend?" she called back, her voice not as steady as she'd wished.

"I simply want to help," the demon replied, a lie that was entirely undercut by the sinister laughter that started to echo throughout the cave immediately afterwards.

"Great," Nea muttered to herself anxiously. "Just great." Once again, the idea of running crossed her mind, but she forced herself to remember that she was a Star Sentinel. A magical girl. And even if she often didn't feel brave enough or special enough for it, she had to at least try to live up to the gift she'd been given. So, timidly, she started walking towards the demon once more.

Nea's walk down the tunnel took longer than she'd expected. From the light she'd seen, she'd assumed there was some kind of cave entrance or illuminated cavern just a short way up ahead, but it seemed like it was much further than she'd initially judged. Still, she had no choice but to keep walking. She wasn't sure whether to feel grateful or not for the fact that the demon had fallen silent. She didn't want to listen to any more of its malicious taunts, but the eerie silence filling the cave just made her feel like it might be lurking in every shadow, ready to ambush her the moment she let down her guard. But it didn't. Nea couldn't have guessed how much time passed, just walking through that cave. As she walked, she kept clutching at and adjusting her Sentinel outfit, pulling at the skirt to keep it close to her body.

She wasn't cold; it was surprisingly warm in the cave, and there was no hint of a breeze that might have chilled her. Still, she felt exposed. She always felt exposed, when she was transformed into Sailor Green. She couldn't help feeling that the frilly blouse, pleated miniskirt and thigh-highs combo wasn't meant for a girl like her. Girls like Akemi and Lian looked so beautiful and so striking in it. Not her. There was a reason Nea always wore dull, shapeless clothes. Most of her wardrobe was hoodies and straight-cut jeans. The Star Sentinel uniform was meant to instill strength and hope, but in her case, it usually just left her uncomfortably aware of how skinny and bony her legs were, and how shapeless and flat her torso was. On her long walk through the cave, she had little else to think about.

Eventually, though, the cave opened out into a much larger cavern. It was illuminated by many more of those strange, emerald crystals than the cave had been, providing the light that Nea had spotted earlier. Now that she was closer, though, the light wasn't what caught her eye. The cavern was full of statues. Dozens and dozens of them, arranged in loose rows, most of them mounted on raised pedestals or tiers that stretched back all the way to the distant walls of the huge cavern. They were posed and arranged almost as if they were the audience in a theater, and Nea had just walked out onto the stage. The scene was creepy enough to make the magical girl freeze in her tracks, even though they were nothing more than cold, inanimate stone. Why were they here? Had they been created for her, or was this just something she'd stumbled upon? Why statues? Even though she had no answers, Nea couldn't stop asking herself those questions - at least, until she realized she wasn't alone.

There was something in there with her. Something moving. Slipping around from shadow to shadow, hiding behind the rows of statues above Nea. It was so fast that at first she'd thought she'd been jumping at shadows, but it was definitely real, even if it remained too quick and slippery to get a clear picture of. Her heart pounding, Nea glanced nervously around and prepared to defend herself.

"Show yourself, demon!" Nea called out. The way her words echoed back at her made them sound small and weak.

"Why?" the thing teased. Nea couldn't tell where exactly its serpentine, inhuman voice was coming from. "So you can try and destroy me? Silly sentinel! I don't want to fight."

"Let me guess," Nea replied sarcastically through gritted teeth, trying to maintain a brave face as she glanced nervously around the expansive cavern. "You just want to help, right?"

The demon's rich, mirthful laughter rang loudly through the cavern, somehow undiminished by the echo. "Of course."

"Yeah? Well... I don't need your help." Nea's retort sounded weak even to her. What would Akemi do? What would Riley say? Those were the only things she could think about. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She kept wishing she could be as brave and strong as the others.

"Are you sure about that, Nea?" the demon taunted. How did it know her name? "Are you sure I can't give you that thing you've always wanted? That you've always craved, coveted, longed for?"

Its words seemed to go right through Nea, forming a pit of unease in her stomach. She knew she shouldn't rise to the demon's leading questions. She knew she shouldn't allow herself to get baited in. She shouldn't even argue. It was what the demon wanted. She knew it. But even so, the words tumbled from her lips: "You can't! You're lying. Your words are empty, demon."

"My words?" the demon mused. The source of its voice kept shifting, moving, making it impossible to pinpoint. "Yes, words can be so full of deceit, can't they? Like yours, for instance. Pretending that you don't fear. That you don't crave. Fortunately, girl, I don't need to say anything. I can simply show you."

Before she could control herself, Nea asked the question she knew she shouldn't have asked. "S-show me what?"

The demon laughed again, a wicked, sinuous cackle. "The statues. Have you looked at them?"

"What?" Nea looked around again. "They're just statues."

"No," the demon whispered, its voice raising hairs on the back of Nea's neck. "Look."

Nea looked. For the first time, she truly looked at the statues surrounding her. When she'd first entered the chamber, she'd been too concerned with the demon to focus on the statues themselves. Now that she was really inspecting them, though, she noticed something strange about them. They looked like her. Not exactly like her - each one was different from the next, and none of them were a perfect resemblance - but close enough to that it was striking. That should have alarmed Nea, but instead, it captivated her. She found her gaze passing from one to the next, studying each in turn, picking out all the differences and similarities to her own form. They were all so lifelike, more like humans turned to stone than actual sculptures, and they were all incredibly, ethereally beautiful. Nea felt almost inadequate in their presence, especially in light of how similar they looked to her. She wasn't sure why she felt increasingly convinced they were statues of her. There was just something in all their faces.

"They... they're amazing," Nea whispered. It was true. She was trying very hard not to drop her guard, but it was difficult not to let it slip in the presence of such incredible beauty, captured in marble.

"I'm glad you agree," the demon purred. "Tell me, girl, which one is your favorite?"

Nea's eyes narrowed. It was a trick. It had to be a trick. And yet, she couldn't see how. It seemed such a harmless question. And what else could Nea do? She couldn't attack the demon. She couldn't even tell where it was. Maybe if she stalled, someone else would come and save her. Maybe that would be best. Besides, there was something so irresistibly compelling about the statues, now that she'd truly turned her attention to them. It was like she couldn't help but look. Nea found that she was already considering the demon's question. She started pacing along the rows of statues, closely inspecting each one in turn. It wasn't entirely pleasant to look at them, though. They were impressive, yes, but in a way, Nea couldn't shake the feeling that they were mocking her with their perfection. What was she, compared to them? All her little flaws and inadequacies felt like they were being thrown into sharp relief.

As she stared intently at the statues around her, one after the other, she noticed something else strange about them. Even though all of them looked at least a little like her, some of them looked like other people too. All kinds of different people - celebrities, friends, family members - but most of all the other Star Sentinels. She was standing next to a statue that bore a striking resemblance to Riley. It captured her strong, honed, athletic body and her handsome face with its strong jaw and high cheekbones, but on the statue, all those attractive features that Nea had often been jealous of seemed even more pronounced. And yet, at the same time, it looked like Nea. The magical girl wasn't sure how that was possible, but the truth of it was staring her right in the face. The statue stirred a complex mix of emotions in Nea. It was a thing of incredible beauty, but at the same time, it was like her innermost desires had been ripped out of her and put on display, for all to see and mock. Nea spent so long staring at the statue, fascinated and spellbound, that when she awoke from the strange stupor it had placed her in, she realized she'd almost completely stopped paying attention to her surroundings. It was mere luck that the demon hadn't attacked. Nea blushed. Clearly, something was wrong. But she couldn't stop looking.

She moved on. The next statue she found herself drawn to reminded her strongly of Mary Anne. It was as cute as a button, just like her, and it had all of her kindness and charm, but it somehow seemed more powerful, more confident, more regal, like a benevolent queen rather than a loving friend. The effect was as compelling as it was eerie. Nea felt guilty for the fact that it even crossed her mind, but she deeply wished she could look like that. The next statue was reminiscent of Zaina. Like her, it was curvy and soft, and the way it was posed and clothes seemed perfectly suited to emphasize that. It was almost breathtaking, in fact. Nea had never imagined it could be possible for a statue to be arousing, but now, she was starting to believe it. There was just something about the way the statue's pronounced marble curves were sculpted that made it seem possible to reach out and let her fingers sink into it. Nea badly wished she had that kind of alluring, instantly attractive body. The moment after having that thought, though, she felt guilty for having such lecherous thoughts about her friend, and she moved on.

It was the next statue that truly captivated her. More than any other, to Nea's eyes, it embodied beauty and perfection. It reminded her of Akemi, the Star Sentinels' leader, and the one she'd always looked up to more than any other. In the statue's face, it had all of Akemi's spirit, all her courage, all her nobility - and yet it was Nea, too, somehow. All the statues were like different versions of her, different potential forms that had, as yet, been unfulfilled. Nea had stopped questioning how any of this was possible. She was too captivated by the statue in front of her. It had Akemi's beauty too, the beauty that she'd spent many long, guilty hours thinking about. Akemi was a hero and a leader. It shone through in every fiber of her being. Seeing all that power, beauty and authority, magnified to be even more attractive and alluring, mingled with Nea's own features, was more than Nea knew how to handle. Her eyes were wide with awe, but her stomach was twisted up with longing. It was everything she'd ever wanted, staring her right in the face. What was she supposed to say to that?

"Ah, that one?"the demon purred. "How delightful! So ironic, that the one who inspires us so much should often be the one we most envy."

Nea wasn't listening anymore. She was struggling to deal with the turmoil in her own thoughts. She was torn between reaching out to caress the statue, to feel how real it felt beneath her touch, and wanting to smash it to pieces so she wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

"Is this what you want?" the demon asked. "What you long for?"

"I..." Nea managed to shake her head, but every part of her knew that her denial was a lie. She didn't even consider refusing to answer the demon's questions. She was already mesmerized, dancing to the infernal creature's tune.

"There's no shame in it, pretty thing," the demon simpered. Its voice seemed to be coming closer and closer. "We all want things we can't have. We all covet our friends' blessings. We all envy. I'm already deep inside your heart, whether you can admit it to yourself or not. So why not admit it? That's what you Star Sentinels are all about, isn't it? Justice, hope - and truth. How can you be a champion of truth, magical girl, when you won't even face your own truth?"

Nea started trembling. The crushing weight of the demon's words was impossible for her to bear. It was true. She was constantly in denial about how jealous she felt of her Star Sentinel teammates - Akemi most of all. The denial made it doubly shameful. She felt a sudden, burning need to cleanse herself of that deceit.

"I-I want it," Nea breathed. Somehow, speaking the words seemed to magnify her desire tenfold.

"And I can give it to you," the demon purred. It was so close now. Nea could practically feel its breath on the back of her neck. But still, she didn't turn around or raise her guard. She was transfixed by the statue. "I am Envy. I can pluck all those nasty desires right out of your heart - and make them real. You won't need to feel this way any more, Nea. You'll have everything you ever wanted. What do you say?"

"N-no," Nea whimpered. Her darkest thoughts were already crying out for her to say something very different, and she could already feel herself teetering on the brink of giving in - but she couldn't. It was wrong. It was antithetical to everything she was supposed to be. Wasn't it? "I can't."

"Can't?" Envy laughed, as if delighted. "Of course you can, silly thing! You need only ask. You need only give me permission to give you my gift. It takes only a heartbeat. You'll never believe how easy it is. Just be honest with yourself."

"But..."

"Just imagine it," the demon continued, easily overriding Nea's weak, stifled protests. "Just imagine what it would be like. What it would feel like. Imagine what you could have." The images were already vivid in Nea's mind, but the more Envy spoke, the stronger they grew. "Imagine, for one glorious moment, what it would be like to have all your covetous desires fulfilled. If, just for a change, you were the one receiving all those delicious, envious glances. Perhaps even from your leader herself. Imagine being able to step out of her shadow, and let your own, brilliant light blaze, unchallenged. Everything you long for can be yours. It's just one word away."

Nea's resistance bowed, and then buckled, and then crumpled completely. "O-OK," she whispered, defeated and overcome with envious longing.

From behind her, Envy giggled. "Now, now," the demon admonished. "Is that how you're supposed to go about asking for something, Sentinel Green?"

Nea tensed, but then her willpower collapsed again. What was one more little humiliation, in light of what she was agreeing to? "P-please..." she moaned.

She could hear the demon's wicked, evil grin in its serpentine voice as it said: "You're mine!"

A taloned hand pressed itself against Nea's back, pushing her forwards. Instinctively, Nea reached out with one hand, reaching for the statue to steady herself. The moment she touched it, she started transforming. Her whole body started glowing green, as if a crackling, emerald, magical current was being passed from the statue into her. It froze her in place instantly, but she felt energized by it, like she was being suddenly infused with life. The statue, by contrast, started smoldering and singing, hairline fractures forming all over the marble. But that was nothing compared to what happened next. Nea's whole body started to warp and distort, melting away like hot wax before swelling and reforming into a new shape. The effect should have been horrifying, but Nea didn't feel horrified. She felt stronger than ever.

The room seemed to shift around the magical girl as her perspective changed, as she grew several inches taller. Her new height was all in her legs, her thighs becoming longer and more feminine and toned. Her stomach flattened, every little bit of puppy fat melting away from all over her body. Most of it seemed to find its way to her chest, making her breasts swell impossibly, while the rest of it added itself to her ass and her hips, giving her the perfect hourglass figure she'd always wanted. Nea could feel her face changing too, becoming more defined, sharp cheekbones suddenly jutting out of her. Suddenly, hair was cascading all around her, as her hair grew, becoming silky and perfectly-styled at the same time. A thousand more tiny changes were happening all over her body, as she was rapidly remolded into the image of perfection that the statue had been. Throughout it all, Nea screamed - not in pain, but in raw ecstasy, as the bliss of envy-fueled transformation took hold upon her mind, body and soul.

Once Nea's transformation was complete, and the energy covering her form had dissipated, the statue that she had been touching simply disintegrated. Where once there had been a sculpture of incredible beauty, now there was nothing more than a smoldering heap of ash and dirt. Nea wasn't sorry to see it destroyed. She'd been utterly captivated by it before, but now, at the sight of it in ruins, she sneered. She didn't need it anymore. She didn't need anything anymore. She felt so powerful, and so good. She'd never known it was possible to feel so good. When she looked down at herself, she felt none of the shame and inadequacy that had plagued her for her whole life. She was free of it. Nea was so hot now. She almost couldn't believe it. She kept turning this way and that, admiring herself and her new body. Her sentinel uniform had changed too, shifting to accommodate her new body, but it was still more revealing than it ever had been before, and Nea reveled in it. She was so hot. She couldn't wait to see how people looked at her now.